


Not a Stripper

by JWade



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 02:36:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13157454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JWade/pseuds/JWade
Summary: Dean is trying to find the perfect entertainment for his brother's graduation/welcome home party and then he notices a man on the dance floor at the club and has a 'brilliant' idea.





	1. Chapter 1

Dean was sitting at the bar, trying to come up with the perfect idea for his brother’s party next week. Sam had just graduated law school, and Dean was throwing him a welcome back party next weekend, but other than just sitting around drinking, he had no idea what to do. He had the brief thought of hiring a band, but that was so boring. Especially when there would only be about ten people there. He had quite a few drinks in him when he lit on the perfect idea, and it was brought on by a guy on the dance floor, dancing quite suggestively with another guy. 

Dean got his opportunity when he came up to the bar. “Hey, can I ask you something?” he asked. 

The blonde man turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “You want a turn around the dance floor?” he asked with a smirk. 

“No, no. Nothing like that. I was just wondering. I’m throwing a party next weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to dance,” Dean suggested. 

“Dance like…as a stripper?” he asked shocked and Dean nodded. “You realize I’m not a stripper right?” 

“I know. But you definitely move like one,” Dean told him. 

“Why not just get an actual stripper?” 

“Because they’re all big and muscular and stuff and that’s not really my brother’s type. He’s who the party is for,” Dean told him. 

“What, so your brother’s type is pudgy middle-aged men?” he asked with a laugh. “Is it a bachelor party or something?” 

“No, his type is short, soft, blondes,” Dean said. “He just graduated from law school so it’s more of a welcome back and congratulations party. I’ll pay well. So, will you do it?” 

He considered the matter for a good long while. His son’s birthday was coming up, and it would be nice to give him the great birthday he could never afford with his teaching job, but that was something else to consider. If it got out that he was stripping, he could lose his job, not to mention the respect of his son. Still, if the pay was good enough… “How much?” 

“A thousand bucks, free drinks, and tips,” Dean offered. He might not have offered so much if he wasn’t already three sheets into the wind. Then again, he might not have approached a random guy about stripping if he wasn’t either. 

“No pictures and no videos and I’ll do it,” Gabriel told him. 

“Deal,” Dean said holding his hand out to shake. “Names Dean, by the way.”

“Gabriel.” 

“You know where Singer Salvage is?” Dean asked. 

“I’ve heard of it,” Gabriel told him. He was sure he could find it. 

“Party’s in the old barn out back. Be there at eight on Saturday night,” Dean told him. 

“I’ll be there,” Gabriel agreed, heading back to the dance floor, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. He only had another hour before he had to head home and relieve the babysitter.

 

The night of the party came around and Gabriel was sure he was going to vomit with nerves. He’d never done anything like this before, and he was cursing the fact that he’d agreed to it. He took a few deep breaths to try and steady himself, reminding himself that he just needed to go in and do a few dances for some weedy little law student and then he could come back home and forget it ever happened. “You look really nice, daddy. Are you going to a party?” he heard a voice behind him and he turned in his silver suit. 

“Yep, I am buddy,” he told his son. 

“Can I come?” 

“Sorry, kiddo. It’s almost your bedtime. Is Anna here yet?” he asked, looking at his watch. He still had about fifteen minutes before he had to leave. 

“Uh-huh. She just got here.”

“Okay. Go tell her I’ll be down in a minute,” Gabriel told him, and the boy nodded and disappeared out the door. Gabriel took another deep breath as he straightened his jacket and put his game face on. He gave Anna her instructions, promised to be back by ten, hugged his son, and headed out. 

 

Dean saw the headlights coming up right on time and looked around for a moment before slipping out the door to meet Gabriel. It was a good thing that most of Sam’s friends could appreciate it, being mostly women. He was one of only three straight guys at the party, who wouldn’t particularly care much about the male stripper and he had every intention of hanging back chatting with them while Gabriel did his thing. “Hey, you came,” Dean said with a nod, shaking Gabriel’s hand, only noticing then that Gabriel’s hand was already shaking just fine on its own. 

“I said I would,” Gabriel told him matter-of-factly. 

“Okay, so here’s the plan. I’ll announce you and put on the music then you can come in and I’ll steer my brother to the center seat, so you can do your thing. I’ll pay you at the end that way you don’t have to worry about where to put it while you’re dancing. Sound like a plan?” 

“Yeah. Okay,” Gabriel said nervously, wringing his hands. 

“You gonna be able to do this?” Dean asked concerned. 

“I’ll be fine,” Gabriel told him, trying and failing to will his nerves away. Dean nodded and slipped back inside. He heard the cheers and assumed that Dean had announced that he had a stripper. A second later he heard the music start up, and Gabriel took one more deep breath before he sauntered in, glancing around as he swung his hips, looking for the weedy little law school nerd, and felt his breath hitch as he saw Dean steering the tallest, most beautiful man he’d ever seen to the center seat. The man even had the most adorable blush on his cheeks, and suddenly, Gabriel was somehow both more nervous and less nervous. He now had a goal here. To fuck this gorgeous man. The brother had already informed him that Gabriel was his type, so maybe…if he could impress…he might just get a shot. 

As the music continued, his hands never stopped shaking as he removed his clothes, piece by piece, and danced mainly for the guest of honor, barely noticing all the drooling women throwing money at him too, or the one other gay guy that couldn’t stop staring. He’d never considered himself particularly attractive, but he just wanted to be attractive to one person tonight. He had a twenty minute routine and the last five were spent in Sam’s lap, giving him the lap dance to end all lap dances. He could feel the rather enthusiastic response as his ass rubbed up against it, and noticed his hands twitching, so Gabriel leaned over and whispered in his ear, “You can touch if you want.”

Gabriel was unable to stop his shudder as he felt the large warm hands trail lightly up his legs and he couldn’t exactly stop himself from responding either as he was soon sporting his own, rather impressive erection, as the hands wandered over his sides and chest. He’d never really considered himself an exhibitionist, but as he slid his last article of clothing low on his hips, turning his back to the object of his desire and rubbing his ass over his lap, he found that he wouldn’t really mind if the guy let his hands wander even more. He never noticed the three straight guys slip out the door to take their beers outside until he was done, as he turned back around, now completely naked and straddled his lap again. 

Unfortunately for Gabriel, or maybe fortunately once he was a little less clouded by lust, the hands never wandered to either his ass or his cock as the last strains of the music faded from the barn. Gabriel lingered for a moment, pressing a little more of his weight down on the lap as he leaned forward and whispered, “Congratulations.” 

Gabriel was more than surprised to hear the ragged breath in his ear ask, “You wanna take this outside?” 

“Oh fuck yes,” Gabriel breathed out, far beyond caring about things like propriety at the moment and he hopped off the lap, grabbing his hand and making for the back door, not even noticing the giggles trailing behind them. 

Once they were out the door, the other man took the lead to an old van that looked like it had seen better days, even without regarding the fact that the engine area had been gutted. When he opened the back door though, it still had the carpeting, even though all the seats had been taken out. Gabriel was starting to lose his nerve, but then he felt warm lips on his and he lost the will to care that he was about to fuck some stranger in the back of a broken down van. Before he knew it, they were laying down, and now the hands were wandering free over his ass and one of them even wrapped around Gabriel’s cock and he let out a stuttered moan before he started fumbling with the man’s belt. 

Gabriel’s lips trailed over his jawbone back to his ear. “You got lube and condoms?” he asked hopefully. He definitely wasn’t stupid enough, no matter how lost in lust he was, to go there without a condom, and he let out a sigh of relief as the man nodded and pulled two packets out of his wallet and handed them over. Gabriel stripped him out of his pants, just as the other man had finished unbuttoning his shirt and Gabriel’s lips trailed down over his chest and by the time he was pulling a pert nipple into his mouth, a finger was sliding into the tight heat. He felt the hands clutching at his back as the man writhed in pleasure. 

As Gabriel’s lips wrapped around the man’s leaking erection he felt a hand tangle tightly in his hair and he gave a growling moan as he picked up his pace, sliding a second finger in and pumping hard and fast, as he tried to stretch him out as quickly as possible before he exploded anyway. He very much had a hair pulling kink. It wasn’t long before he was sliding a third finger in and then heard a breathy, “Fuck, I’m ready. Just fuck me.”

Gabriel immediately removed his fingers and scrambled for the condom, sliding it over his length before plunging in hard and fast. The hand wrapped in his hair yanked him down for another kiss and he set a quick brutal pace, met thrust for thrust with the desperate lift of hips as the van rocked with them. Gabriel was being held so tightly that he couldn’t manage to fit a hand between them to get his partner off, but it hardly mattered because it wasn’t long before he could feel the clenching around his length, followed by the pulsing of his cock as he spilled himself over their stomachs and Gabriel let out his own gasping moan as he filled the condom. 

He pulled himself out, not even having the strength to remove the condom as he collapsed on his back next to the gorgeous man. He would move in a second. Once he caught his breath. “I don’t usually do this you know,” he felt the need to say. 

“Do what? The sex or the stripping?” 

“Either,” Gabriel told him. “The sex at least has happened before though. Occasionally,” he joked, getting a breathy chuckle in response. 

“I’m Sam, by the way.”

“Gabriel,” he said looking over with a grin. “Nice to meet you, Sam.” He finally felt like he had the strength to get up and did so, reaching out a hand to help Sam up as he did. “Don’t suppose you’d consider retrieving my clothes for me?” he asked sheepishly with a blush, looking back at the barn. 

Sam laughed at his embarrassment and quickly agreed, replacing his own. When he returned a few minutes later, he was carrying Gabriel’s clothes and a wad of cash that he’d apparently gotten from his brother. Gabriel quickly dressed himself and gave Sam a short kiss and another congratulations before he left.


	2. Chapter 2

When Sam went in to get Gabriel’s clothes, Dean gave him a knowing smirk, but Sam just ignored him. “Here. You wanna give this to him when you give him his clothes?” Dean asked handing Sam a wad of cash. 

Sam took it and started to hesitate for a second before he pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribbled his number on an old receipt he had in there and put it in the center of the wad. He wasn’t sure why he was doing this other than the fact that he was never much for one night stands. Not even in college. He didn’t usually pick his dates just because they were gorgeous, but he had seen a hint of what might be a good sense of humor, so he comforted himself with that. He could at least give it a shot. If Gabriel called, great. If not, oh well.

 

Gabriel got home and paid the babysitter before going upstairs and changing into his t-shirt and boxers for bed. He stuffed the wad of cash in his sock drawer and was dead to the world. He didn’t pull it out again until the next weekend when he was going shopping for Caspian’s birthday and happened to be in the middle of the store when he opened the wad and the number fell out. He couldn’t help the grin that lit his face when he saw that it was Sam’s. He hadn’t been expecting anything to come of it. Not only was Sam younger, but drop dead gorgeous, and a lawyer. His first impression of Gabriel had been as a stripper. He didn’t think he’d actually have a shot. Even after he made it clear that he wasn’t actually a stripper. 

He finished his shopping with a new spring in his step as he bought Cas the new playstation three and a bunch of games for it as well as a small television for his room. He’d been asking for one for a while, but Gabriel hadn’t seen the point in spending that kind of money. Since he had it though, and was getting the video games, he didn’t particularly want the big living room tv monopolized all the time for them. He also got a few new board games that they could play together and some other little odds and ends and saved the rest for the party that he was throwing the next weekend, stopping at the party supply store on the way home. 

After he hid all the presents and party supplies, he still had an hour before Cas would be home from his friend’s house, so he pulled out his phone and decided to call Sam before he lost his nerve and it was answered on the second ring. “Hello?” 

“H-hi. Is this Sam?” 

“Yeah. Who’s this?” Sam asked. 

“Gabriel.” 

Sam sat straight up in his chair at that. He hadn’t thought Gabriel was going to call. It had been a week. “Oh, hi Gabriel,” he said cheerfully.

Gabriel let out a breath of relief that his call seemed to be welcome at least if the tone was anything to go by. “How have you been?” he asked for lack of anything else to ask. 

“Not bad. Started my new job this week so it’s been pretty busy,” Sam told him, closing the folder he was working on. 

“Ah yes. The long hours of a lawyer,” Gabriel joked. 

Sam laughed. “It’s not really so bad. I’ve put in a lot of hours this week because I just started, but I shouldn’t work more than fifty hours a week normally,” he told him, wanting to make it clear that he did have time for a relationship, should they decide to pursue one. 

“That’s not bad. Hell, I put in that many hours most weeks myself,” Gabriel told him. 

“What do you do?” Sam asked curiously.

“I teach literature at the high school,” Gabriel told him. 

“You’re a teacher?” Sam asked shocked. “That’s why you said no pictures or video,” he figured out. 

“Yeah, can you imagine the mess it would make if that got out?” Gabriel laughed. 

“Why’d you do it then?” Sam asked. 

“Your brother offered quite a bit of money,” Gabriel said with a laugh. He had no intention of scaring the man away with the idea of his son before they even had a first date. Speaking of… “So, I was thinking. You want to have dinner or something next weekend?” 

“Yeah. Sure. When were you thinking?” Sam said with a grin. 

“How about seven on Saturday night? We can meet at the Ruby Tuesday on eighth?” Gabriel suggested. Caspian would be having a sleepover after his party which would be ending at four, giving Gabriel plenty of time to clean up and get ready. 

“Yeah, okay. That sounds good,” Sam agreed. 

“Great,” Gabriel said happily as he heard a horn honk. “Well, I gotta run. If I don’t talk to you before then, I’ll see you next Saturday.”

“Yeah, see you then, Gabriel,” Sam said hanging up the phone. 

Gabriel rushed downstairs to go get Caspian and Balthazar from Balthazar’s mom. They would both be spending the rest of the day with him today and having a sleepover tonight, as was the longstanding arrangement with Zar’s mom. The two boys had been inseparable since their first day of kindergarten, and they alternated Fridays and Saturdays. One week they would stay with Zar’s mom on Friday night through Saturday afternoon and then Gabriel until Sunday afternoon and the next week they would switch. Well, unless one of the boys was sick like Balthazar had been last weekend. 

When Caspian’s birthday rolled around, the party went well. He’d done their backyard up in streamers and balloons and a huge banner. Everything was decorated with Cas’ current favorite show. Power Rangers. By the time four o’clock rolled around and the last of the kids got picked up before Cas and Zar left, he was exhausted. He wasn’t going to go to too much trouble at the moment, and just bagged up all the trash and took it out to the bin, took the remainder of the food and presents inside and collapsed. He had about an hour until he had to get up and get ready for his date. 

By the time he managed to pull himself off the couch, he had to rush through his shower and he got to the restaurant right on time. Sam was, of course, quite early. Sam looked up and barely stifled a chuckle as he grinned at Gabriel. “You’ve got a little…um…glitter in your hair,” he said amusedly. 

“I do?” Gabriel said reaching up and seeing the sparkles that transferred to his fingers. He hated glitter. It was a nightmare to clean off. “Crap.”

“Are you sure you’re not really a stripper?” Sam teased. 

Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh. It was now or never. “No, it’s…it’s from my son’s birthday party earlier,” he said quickly biting his lip as he waited for Sam’s reaction. He’d known he couldn’t hide the fact that he was a father forever, but he’d hoped to get at least partway through the date before it came up. 

“Your…son?” Sam asked, gaze flickering down to Gabriel’s hand. 

Gabriel noticed it and held his hand up, wiggling the fingers. “Don’t worry. Not married. Never have been,” Gabriel told him nervously. 

“Sorry. I’m just nosy,” Sam said sheepishly. 

“No, it’s okay. Long story short, I got drunk and had a one-night stand, and never even knew about the baby until she dumped him on my doorstep and took off. Last I heard she was off in Paris somewhere doing some kind of fashion design, but I haven’t spoken to her since,” Gabriel gave him the barebones explanation. 

“So, she’s not in his life at all?” Sam asked concerned.

“Nope. She hasn’t laid eyes on him since he was three days old and left him with me,” Gabriel told him. 

“Wow. She sounds like a real piece of work. So, you’re not…you know…gay?” Sam asked curiously. 

“Oh, I am. Mostly. It’s just when I get drunk past a certain point I get a little more uninhibited,” Gabriel said with a chuckle. 

Sam laughed. “Yeah. I’ve been there,” he said amusedly. The night he slept with Gabriel had been one of those moments even. He was enjoying the chance to get to know him while he was in his right mind. The rest of the meal they talked about smaller inconsequential things and Sam found that the little glimpse he’d gotten the night of the party was right. Gabriel had an amazing sense of humor. 

As they were leaving, a little after eight, Sam found that he didn’t want the evening to end yet. “I know of a great coffee house slash bookstore nearby we could hang out at for a while,” he suggested. 

He didn’t miss the grin on Gabriel’s face as the shorter man took his hand and said, “Yeah, okay.”

They completely lost track of time once they got there. They were sitting on one of the couches dotted around the place, discussing favorite books, while Sam’s arm rested lightly around Gabriel’s shoulder. Given that Gabriel was a literature teacher and Sam was a bit of a bookworm, they both had a ton to say on the subject. It wasn’t until the place was closing at eleven that they realized the time. Once they got back to Gabriel’s car, Sam having walked, Sam rather nervously leaned down for a kiss that quickly got rather heated. It was like Gabriel was a drug and he was on the best high of his life. It seemed that Gabriel was just as lost in it as he was because when they broke for air, Gabriel whispered, “Should we take this back to your place?” 

Sam wanted to. God did he want to. But… “I’m still staying with my brother at the moment. I haven’t really had time to find a place since I got back to town.”

Gabriel groaned, leaning his head against Sam’s shoulder. He didn’t usually make a habit of taking dates home, but Cas wasn’t home tonight. The house was a mess after the party though. When Sam kissed him again though, he didn’t care anymore. “My son is sleeping over a friend’s house tonight, but I haven’t really got much cleaned up after the party…”

“I don’t care,” Sam said breathlessly, just glad that they had somewhere to go.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel made it back to his house in record time, and pulled Sam in the door, pulling him in for a heated kiss as the door closed behind them, and immediately started dragging him up the stairs, hopefully before he caught sight of the mess downstairs. He managed to wait until they were in his, thankfully clean, bedroom before he started unbuttoning Sam’s shirt, feeling Sam’s hands doing the same to his as their lips reattached. It was only a few minutes before their shirts were sliding off their shoulders and they were tumbling into bed. 

Sam slid on top of Gabriel, moving his lips up Gabriel’s jaw and down his neck as his hands slid down to Gabriel’s pants. Gabriel’s hands were working the button on Sam’s pants as well when Sam nipped at the soft skin on Gabriel’s neck and Gabriel accidentally popped the button off as he arched up with a keening moan. Seemed Sam had found another button. “Fuck yes, Sam. Bite me,” he gasped. It would have to wait a second though because Sam was sliding off him to finish removing their pants, but then he was back and did as he was asked, biting Gabriel’s neck hard and he could feel the twitching of Gabriel’s cock in response to that. 

Sam remembered Gabriel’s reaction to having his hair pulled to, so moved one of his hands up to wrap in his hair, pulling his head to the side to get a better angle and that just drove Gabriel even higher. He reached over and fumbled in his drawer for a moment before sliding a bottle of lube and a condom into Sam’s free hand, spreading his legs wide when he felt Sam’s hand nudge him and he arched off the bed when he felt a long finger hit the sweet spot just as Sam bit into his neck, sucking at the same time. Fuck if Sam wasn’t hitting all his buttons. If he kept this up, he might not make it to the main event. It was this thought that had him saying, “Screw it. I’m ready enough. Just fuck me.” He knew that it would burn, but it would fade, and it might just pull him back from the desperate edge he was teetering on at the moment. 

Sam moaned at Gabriel’s words, and wasn’t about to ask him if he was sure. He would be so incredibly tight right now. He just grabbed the condom and rolled it over his length before lining up and plunging in, catching the hiss of pain from Gabriel and giving a choking moan. He was nice enough to pause and give Gabriel a chance to adjust though as he leaned over and kissed him hard, pulling Gabriel’s lower lip in his teeth as he did so which had Gabriel forgetting all about the pain as he bucked his hips up, pulling Sam deeper. Gabriel’s fingers dug into Sam’s back as the taller man pulled back and slammed his lips forward again as his teeth found their way back to Gabriel’s neck and it wasn’t long before Gabriel had his hands braced against the headboard as Sam slammed into him hard and fast. 

As Sam’s teeth and lips and tongue were trailing over Gabriel’s neck and shoulders, Gabriel was rapidly reaching the point of no return and he was soon crying out his release, completely untouched, pulling Sam over the edge with him. As Sam collapsed on the bed next to Gabriel, pulling the condom off as he did so, he felt like he could barely breathe. He left his hand in Gabriel’s hair, but it loosened and turned softer as his thumb traced over Gabriel’s cheek. Gabriel leaned towards the touch, smiling softly, as he took a chance and turned against Sam’s side, smile widening as Sam’s arm wrapped around him and pulled him close. 

It took them a few minutes to catch their breath before Sam asked amusedly, “So biting, hair-pulling, any other kinks I should know about?” 

Gabriel laughed. “At this rate, you’ll have them all soon enough. No freebies.” Sam pretended to pout before he laughed too. “But you know two of mine and I don’t know any of yours,” Gabriel pointed out. 

“Hey, I earned my knowledge fair and square,” Sam teased. 

“Well I guess I’ll just have to do a little more exploring next time then,” Gabriel said with a smirk. 

“That mean there’s gonna be a next time?” Sam asked trying to keep a casual tone. 

Gabriel had no such qualms though. “Oh, god, I hope so,” he breathed out and got rewarded with a kiss. 

“So, do you need me to go or…”

“Cas won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon, so it’s up to you,” Gabriel said nonchalantly, both offering to let him stay and making it clear that meeting his son wasn’t an option at this point.

Sam got the message and didn’t blame him a bit. He would have been the same way in Gabriel’s situation. He even restrained his curiosity to keep from asking more about him. He did get a name at least and considered himself lucky to have that much. The entire evening, the few times that he had come up in conversation, Gabriel had just said, ‘my son’. Not that he thought he had any right to know anything yet. His curiosity was at once his best and worst trait though. 

There wasn’t a whole lot of conversation after that point before they fell asleep. Sam woke first the next morning, instinctively tightening his arms around Gabriel and burying his face in the silky blonde hair. It seemed that little bit of movement was enough to wake Gabriel though, as the smaller man stirred in his arm, snuggling closer to the warmth as he murmured a sleepy, “Morning.”

“Good morning,” Sam whispered with a smile, running a hand through his hair, taking care not to get it tangled and pull it. He’d looked at the clock and noticed that it was nearly eleven which meant he had to leave soon before Gabriel’s son got home and Gabriel had mentioned that he wanted to get the house cleaned up first, so they didn’t have time to get into it again, much as Sam may like to. 

They did lounge around for a good half hour before they pulled themselves out of bed and got dressed, at which point Sam noticed that his button was broken and frowned at it. Gabriel chuckled heartily and said, “Sorry about that.”

Sam just shrugged. “Oh well. I’m going right home anyway so I can change.”

“You need a ride?” Gabriel asked. Sam considered the matter for a moment before he nodded. If not for the wardrobe malfunction he would have taken a bus, but under the circumstances, he was glad that Gabriel offered. “Okay. We should probably head out then,” Gabriel said grabbing his keys from the dresser. 

Sam’s lips quirked in amusement as they passed what he assumed was Cas’ room and Gabriel rolled his eyes and closed the door, muttering under his breath. “I told that child to clean his room before the party.” Once they were on the road, Gabriel brought up a second date. “So, if you’re not busy Friday night there’s a comedy club I hang out at sometimes…” he let the invitation hang there to see if Sam would pick it up. 

“That sounds like fun,” Sam said. “Where and what time?” 

“At the corner of sixteenth and Peach. Six o’clock?” 

“I might be a little late, but I can try for six,” Sam told him. 

“That’s no problem. Just join me whenever,” Gabriel said as they were pulling into Dean’s house. As long as he had a heads up, so he wouldn’t think he was being stood up, he didn’t mind being late. He would have adjusted the time if Sam had asked, of course, but gathered that it wasn’t strictly necessary. They had a lingering goodbye kiss before Sam got out of the car, and Gabriel gave a little wave to the brother who was watching out the window. 

His little detour meant that he just barely finished cleaning the house when Cas got dropped off, so he had the boy go clean his room first, not letting him set up his new tv or video games until that was done, and they spent the rest of the day together, Cas not questioning his father’s good mood. He was just glad that he got out of being grounded for not cleaning his room.


	4. Chapter 4

When Friday rolled around, Gabriel went straight home after school to shower and change before heading out to the comedy club, trying to keep his jitters down as he waited for Sam. It was about quarter after before Sam slid into the seat next to him. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No biggie. You said you might be,” Gabriel told him, beaming when Sam leaned down for a quick kiss. A few hours and a few drinks later, and Sam talked Gabriel into going up on stage since it was open mic night. He’d had Sam laughing far more than any of the comedians up there had tonight, just from his whispered comments on their jokes. He wanted to see what Gabriel could do with the mic in his hands. 

Gabriel had been known to take the mic from time to time at these things, but not often, so it was still with a case of the nerves when he finally agreed to Sam’s request. He was pretty good at taking things from his life and putting a funny spin on it, and no one was funnier than his son. “Have you ever noticed that kids never want anything healthy until it’s the last one? Trying to get my kid to eat broccoli is like pulling teeth, but you pull out the last piece of broccoli that you’ve been looking forward to all day, drench it in that delicious cheese, and raise it to your mouth and there they are. ‘Can I have some?’ ‘It’s broccoli. You don’t like broccoli.’ ‘I do now!’” He gave a theatrical sigh. “And then the worst part. If you actually do give in and give it to them, they pop it in their mouth, give it a couple chews and then spit it out! Come on!”

Sam laughed along with everyone else and Gabriel continued. “And I swear they have some sort of radar to know when you’re doing something. They’ll be playing outside all day long while you’re bored to death, but don’t you pick up that phone or you won’t get a moment’s peace. You miss your kid? Feeling left out? Just pick up a book and they’ll be dying to play with you.” On it went until time was called. Each person only got thirty minutes so other people could get a turn, and true to Sam’s prediction he’d been in stitches the whole time. He kissed Gabriel in congratulations when he came back to the table and the rest of the night was spent much like the first half had been. Quiet conversation, sarcastic remarks about the other comedian’s jokes and plenty of beer. Sam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. 

This time Gabriel had walked, only living a few blocks away, so it was Sam’s car they were pressed against as they left around midnight. Sam leaned down to nibble on Gabriel’s earlobe as he whispered, “I got a new apartment this week. I’m not moved in yet, but the furniture has been delivered,” he pointed out suggestively. 

“Then what are we still doing here?” Gabriel asked with a waggle of his eyebrows. Once they were in Sam’s new apartment, he’d barely closed the door behind him when Gabriel had him pressed up against the wall, unbuttoning his shirt with fast hands. When Sam bit his ear back there, it got him insanely hot and he wanted nothing more than to ravish him now. Sam was just as eager though and their shirts hit the floor before they were even halfway to the bedroom, shoes trailing behind them too and before Sam knew it Gabriel was straddling his waist as he laid on the bed. 

It wasn’t until Gabriel threaded his fingers with Sam’s and slammed his hands on the bed to either side of his head that he figured out what one of Sam’s hot buttons was when the taller man all but whimpered and Gabriel felt the twitching of his cock at that motion and he smirked. So, Sam liked being held down. Maybe even restrained. He could work with that. They could come back to that later though. They still needed to finish getting undressed and he needed his hands free for a little while. Once they were both naked, Gabriel slid down Sam’s body, sliding his mouth around his cock as he felt lube and a condom being pressed into his hand before another hand tangled in his hair and Gabriel was getting Sam ready as quickly as humanly possible. 

As he slid himself in, he grabbed Sam’s hands again and pinned them back to the bed and Sam jerked his hips up in response and Gabriel’s breath hitched as he was pulled in even deeper. When Sam half-heartedly struggled against his grip, Gabriel just put his weight into holding him down and Sam’s cock jumped as the leaking increased steadily. Gabriel slid in and out slowly, trying to drag it out this time, every so often pressing harder on Sam’s hands to hold him in place. After a while, he shifted, so that one of his hands had both of Sam’s wrists trapped above his head and he could run his hand over the hot body underneath him as he picked up his pace. This was very much playing into his domination kink, it was turning him on just as much as the biting and the hairpulling did. He wondered… “I’m gonna let you go and you’re not gonna move,” he growled. 

Sam sucked in a sharp breath and bit his lip as he nodded. Gabriel could feel the tightness around him restrict as Sam very nearly came from that. So, he like being given orders too. Hell yeah, Gabriel could work with this. He got up on his knees and slung Sam’s legs over his shoulder as he picked up his pace. When he saw Sam holding his hands above his head still, he smirked and purred, “Good boy.” Sam’s hips jerked up at that and Gabriel was having trouble holding on as he slammed harder and faster into Sam’s body. “Touch yourself, Sam,” he ordered and one of Sam’s hands immediately came down and wrapped around his length and started stroking. When Gabriel could feel himself teetering on the edge, he growled out, “Cum, Sam.” That was all it took, and he pulled Gabriel over the edge with him. Gabriel had suspected after he had nearly cum at that first order that it would work, but he’d never felt as powerful as when it actually did.

He collapsed on the bed next to Sam, who wasted no time pulling the smaller man to his side as they tried to catch their breath. “So, I guess you figured me out,” Sam said sheepishly once he could manage words again. 

“Mmhmm,” Gabriel said, dancing his fingers through the mess on Sam’s chest. “And in case you couldn’t tell…I am very very into it.”

“Good,” Sam said relieved, as he slid his hand over Gabriel’s back. 

“Very good. Which means if we’re going to continue this I need to know your safe word,” Gabriel purred. 

“Taxes,” Sam said. 

“Taxes?” Gabriel laughed. 

“Well if I’m thinking about taxes I’m hardly into it am I?” Sam joined in the laugh. 

“That is true. Okay. Taxes it is.”

“Can you stay, or do you need to get home?” Sam asked hopefully, running a hand through Gabriel’s hair. He really was like a drug that Sam couldn’t get enough of. 

“I can stay,” Gabriel purred as he snuggled tighter against Sam’s side. The next morning, Gabriel was woken by a hand carding through his hair and he turned and pressed a soft kiss to Sam’s chest with a mumbled, “Morning.”

“Good morning,” Sam whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Gabriel’s head. Like last time, they lounged in bed for a good half hour before they had to get up and start their days. Sam, in particular, had a busy day. He had to get moved into the apartment today. Before Gabriel left though, Sam asked, “When can I see you again?” 

“How about next Saturday? I can pick you up around three?” 

“That works. I was thinking maybe we could go to the arboretum?” Sam suggested. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Gabriel said, kissing Sam deeply before he left.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam found himself counting down the days until he could see Gabriel again, not knowing that Gabriel was doing the same. Gabriel went through his days in a great mood. Even Cas had commented on how happy he seemed, and he hadn’t realized until that moment that he might just be falling for Sam. That turned his great mood into a great contemplative mood, and he knocked on Sam’s apartment door the following Saturday afternoon with a grin. This was the first time they were going somewhere together rather than meeting there. They entered the arboretum and began walking the paths. “It’s so beautiful here,” Sam said as he felt the tension just rolling from his body. 

“Nature is what we know, yet have no art to say,” Gabriel replied. 

Sam smiled. “Emily Dickinson.” They had started a game way back on their first date at the bookstore where one of them would give a quote and the other would guess who it was. “All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks; Are life eternal: and in silence they; Speak happiness beyond the reach of books”

Gabriel blinked at him for a moment. “I don’t think I know that one,” he said. Sam had stumped him a few times, but it didn’t happen often. 

“John Clare,” Sam told him with a grin. He loved when he could stump the literature teacher. “I have loved colours, and not flowers; Their motion, not the swallow’s wings; And wasted more than half my hours; Without the comradeship of things.” He gave him another shot. 

“Arthur Symons,” Gabriel said with a nod. He knew that one. They walked the paths, hand in hand for hours. Some spent in quiet conversation, some spent inspecting the different trees and plants and reading the plaques on them, pointing out fun facts that the other might find interesting, some even spent in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. It was a peaceful, relaxing day, and by the end of it they were both falling hard. “There’s a play tonight at the Orpheum if you want to go,” Gabriel suggested as the arboretum closed at five. 

“Yeah okay. What play?” Sam asked despite not caring one bit if it got him more time to spend with Gabriel. 

“They’re doing Death of a Salesman,” Gabriel told him. This is the first step of letting Sam into his life. Some of his kids from school were doing the summer theatre program and would be in the play, and he didn’t doubt that they would approach him to say hello once they noticed him there. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one,” Sam said thoughtfully. “I know I’ve read it, but it would be nice to see it performed.”

“Good,” Gabriel said with a grin as they got back in his car to drive across town to the theatre. Once they were in their seats, Gabriel took out the program and began reading through it. They managed to get second row center since they were there early and chatted quietly among themselves until it started. “Joey, the guy who plays Biff was in my literature class this past year. Dan, playing Charley was in my class the year before that. Marie, playing Jenny, was also in my class last year,” Gabriel told Sam. 

Sam put his arm around Gabriel, pressing a kiss to his temple as he grinned. He got what Gabriel was doing. Giving him a backdoor into some part of his life. This was a test of some sort to see if Sam wanted to come in, and god did he want to come in. “I’m glad you brought me,” Sam whispered, seeing the soft smile spread across Gabriel’s face. 

Sure enough, after the show, Gabriel’s three students had noticed him in the audience and came to say hello. “You all did so wonderful,” he praised them. 

“You did. I really enjoyed the show,” Sam added when they looked over at him. 

“This is Sam,” Gabriel introduced him before introducing the kids. He didn’t give any title, but Sam’s arm around Gabriel’s shoulder and Gabriel’s around Sam’s waist said enough for the kids to get the hint. They all greeted him very politely before saying their goodbyes and heading backstage to change out of their costumes and all. Gabriel was expecting a lot of questions come Monday. Marie’s best friend was in Gabriel’s summer school class, and he was sure she would hear about it by then.

When Gabriel got to Sam’s apartment to drop him off, Sam opened the door and quirked an eyebrow in question, and Gabriel wasted no time coming inside. When Sam grabbed him in a kiss, Gabriel quickly pressed him against the wall, but when Sam’s hands went to his shirt, Gabriel grabbed them and pushed them to the side before stepping back. Sam looked at him curiously, but Gabriel just smirked, and his voice went deep and firm as he said, “Take off your shirt, Sam.” He could see Sam’s cock jump to attention at that as Sam sucked in a sharp breath and didn’t hesitate to follow the order. “Mmm. Good boy,” Gabriel hummed, running a hand down the side of Sam’s face and down his chest. “Take off your socks and shoes,” he ordered in the same tone, and Sam quickly kicked his shoes off and bent to slide his socks off after them. When his hand tried to brush over his erection on his way back up, Gabriel’s hand shot out and caught his wrist. “Ah, ah, ah. No touching,” Gabriel admonished, and he could see the wet spot forming in the front of Sam’s pants as his cock was leaking. 

Gabriel, too, was fully hard by now. Just seeing Sam’s instant obedience how hot it was making him was enough to do that. “Pinch your nipples for me, Sam,” he said, not wanting to give Sam the relief of taking off his pants yet and Gabriel’s breathing stuttered at the sight as his eyes locked with Sam’s, which shone with lust. Gabriel gave it a few minutes before he said, “Take off your pants.” Sam immediately did so, leaving himself in just his boxers as the wet spot in the front was now matched by Gabriel’s. “You can rub yourself through your shorts,” Gabriel gave him permission and Sam wasted no time doing so as his breathing became ragged. “Okay stop,” Gabriel said before he could get himself too worked up, and Sam whimpered but his hand immediately fell to his side. “Good boy,” Gabriel praised. “Take off your shorts.” 

Sam was now standing in all his glory in front of Gabriel who motioned him forward, stepping back himself to keep some distance between them. Distance he knew was driving Sam crazy. He lazily rubbed himself through his pants, just needing some kind of friction, but not wanting to get himself off too soon. He walked slowly around Sam, trailing his hand over the glorious body he was presented with. He stepped back in front and told Sam, “Touch yourself. Slowly.” Gabriel watched as Sam’s large hand wrapped around his length and slid oh so slowly back and forth, smearing the large amount of precum he was leaking everywhere. “Okay, stop,” Gabriel said again after a minute. Not letting Sam get too close. He’d had all week to plan this. 

“Come here,” Gabriel told him. Sam stepped up in front of Gabriel. “Unzip my pants.” Sam reached forward to do so. “Pull my cock out.” Gabriel’s breath hitched as Sam’s hand wrapped around it to pull it out. He was nearly as close as Sam. Gabriel could tell that he was only a few orders away from coming. “On your knees, Sam,” Gabriel said firmly. Sam hadn’t yet sucked his cock, and he was dying to bury himself in that warm mouth. Sam could always safeword out if it was something he really didn’t want to do, of course, and Gabriel wouldn’t hold it against him. Until then though, he looked down at the man on his knees in front of him, looking up at him waiting for more orders and he smirked. “Lick it,” he ordered, barely keeping his legs under him as Sam’s tongue darted out to do so. He could tell by Sam’s breathing that he was so close, and he wondered if he was only holding himself back waiting for permission. He wondered if he could make Sam cum just like this. Sam was still licking over his cock like it was an ice cream cone and Gabriel said, “Cum, Sam.” Sam gave a whimpering moan as he spurted all over the floor, his tongue over Gabriel’s cock faltering as he did and that alone was nearly enough to push Gabriel over the edge. 

“Suck me, Sam,” he breathed out and Sam’s lips wrapped around his length and Gabriel had to grab the counter for support as Sam’s cheeks hollowed out and it felt like he was trying to suck Gabriel’s brain out through his dick. “Oh…fuck…yes,” Gabriel panted as he shifted his hips forward looking for more. He stopped and pulled back a bit when Sam started to choke. Gabriel reached down with the hand that wasn’t holding himself up, and wrapped it in Sam’s hair, pulling his head back and forth as he fucked Sam’s mouth. “Oh…shit…Sam…I’m…fuck…coming….swallow, Sam,” he said, not allowing him to pull away as he spilled over in Sam’s mouth and Sam swallowed as much as he could. 

Gabriel pulled his cock from Sam’s mouth and said, “Stand up, Sam.” Sam did so, looking Gabriel in his eyes, cock already stirring again. “Take off my clothes.” Once he was sliding Gabriel’s shirt off his shoulders, Gabriel said, “Bite me, Sam.” Sam leaned forward and bit into Gabriel’s neck, sucking hard as his hands moved to unbutton Gabriel’s pants and slide both them and his boxers off. Once that was done, he tangled his hand in Gabriel’s hair and pulled his head to the side to get a better angle. Gabriel hadn’t told him to do that, but he would let this one go for the moment. “Go lay down on the bed, Sam,” Gabriel said after a few minutes. Gabriel followed at a much more sedate pace and when he got there, he saw the lube and condoms out on the bedside table and Sam was laying there on his back. 

Gabriel smirked and climbed up on the bed. “Spread your legs for me, Sam,” Gabriel said as he reached for the lube to coat his fingers. “Good boy,” he praised as Sam’s cock was now fully erect again and he slid a finger inside as his other hand reached forward to stroke Sam slowly while his finger was working in and out. This wasn’t doing much for his own erection though. so he pulled his hand away. “Touch yourself, Sam,” he ordered, and Sam immediately reached to do so. Watching Sam stroke himself was much better. He slid a second finger in and said, “Faster.” Sam picked up the pace, his breathing getting uneven, but Gabriel could tell he wasn’t too close yet, and before he got there, Gabriel said, “Stop,” as he slid a third finger into the tight ass. “Do you want me to fuck you now?” Gabriel asked, already reaching for the condom. Sam nodded profusely. “Words, Sam. Tell me what you want,” he ordered. 

“Fuck me, Gabriel. Please. P-put your cock in me. Want to feel you filling me up. Fuck me,” Sam whined before letting out a gasping moan as he got what he wanted and felt Gabriel’s large cock stretching him open even further. 

Once Gabriel was fully seated, he was leaning over Sam, and he said, “You can do whatever you want now.” Suddenly it was a blur of lips and hands as Sam pulled him down into a desperate kiss, biting his lower lip as one hand tangled in Gabriel’s hair and the other was roaming roughly over every inch of skin he could reach, and Gabriel started moving in him, picking up the pace exponentially as Sam’s lips moved to his neck and a sharp bite was placed there. “Fuck, yes, Sam,” he breathed out, slamming hard and fast into the tight heat as his lips were captured again. Sam’s hand was currently rubbing over his chest so he was able to lift up enough to take Sam’s cock in his hand and pump it in time with his rapidly turning frantic thrusts. “Oh, fuck. Yes. So close. Cum, Sam. Cum,” he panted out, feeling Sam spilling over his hand as his own orgasm was ripped from his body before he collapsed trembling next to Sam on the bed.


	6. Chapter 6

This time there was no conversation as the two of them drifted off to sleep nearly as soon as they could breathe, still wrapped in each other’s arms, of course. Sam woke first the next morning with a smile, and immediately turned to bury his face in Gabriel’s hair. He realized that he was definitely falling hard. He would have to think of a good way to tell him. Before Gabriel left, they planned their next date, dinner and pool at a sports bar for the next Friday night and Sam suddenly hit on the perfect way to tell Gabriel how he felt. It would have to be at the next date after that though. For his pick. 

Gabriel was waiting for Sam at the sports bar when he arrived, and he turned around with a smirk. When Sam sat down, dropping a kiss on his lips and Gabriel slid a back over to him. Sam looked at him curiously and opened the bag, looking inside before his eyes went wide and he closed it again with a blush. Gabriel smirked and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Go to the bathroom and put that in and then come back,” he said firmly. Sam bit his lip as his breathing sped up and he nodded. He just hoped no one would notice his half-hard cock on the way to the bathroom. 

Sam slipped into one of the stalls and dropped his pants, pulling the large butt plug out of its packaging and taking a deep breath before sliding it in. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, but fuck if it wasn’t hot as all hell. It took him a few minutes to will his erection away. At least for the most part so he could get his pants back up and get back to the table. He was walking more than a little stiffly at the moment, but he slid back in next to Gabriel who just smirked wider. “Is it in?” Gabriel asked in a whisper. Sam nodded. “Good boy,” Gabriel praised running a finger down Sam’s cheek as he turned him for a kiss. He felt Sam’s breathing speed up again before he gave him the kicker. “And let me tell you a secret,” he whispered softly before moving his lips so close to Sam’s ear they were touching, and he just barely breathed out the words, “I have one in too.” Sam knuckles turned white he was gripping the table so hard and Gabriel chuckled and reached under the table to run a hand, very lightly, over Sam’s blatant erection, before pulling away as the waitress walked up. 

Sam hadn’t quite found words yet, so Gabriel ordered for both of them, beyond amused. This was so much fun. Of course, he’d been in much the same state when he’d first inserted his before he came here, but that didn’t make it any less amusing. Gabriel did stop teasing Sam for most of the meal though. Moving around with the buttplugs in would be tough enough without the raging erections accompanying them. Once they were finished eating, Gabriel’s smirk returned, and he said, “Come on. Let’s go play pool.”

“You want to…with…but…”

“Sam,” Gabriel said warningly, and Sam sucked in a sharp breath and got up, Gabriel following him to the pool tables. He could feel the plug moving with every step and he didn’t know how he was supposed to do this and that was even before he was bending down lining up his shot to break and Gabriel bumped his ass, jolting it and he gasped and scratched. “Oooh. Bad break. Try it again,” Gabriel teased. That set the tone for the whole evening as they both teased each other constantly. Gabriel kept them there playing pool for hours, and when he finally suggested going back to Sam’s place, Sam practically dragged him out the door. 

Once they were inside Sam’s apartment, Sam grabbed desperately for Gabriel. “Ah, ah, ah, Sammykins. Not yet,” Gabriel chided, and Sam whimpered and stood still, waiting for instructions. Gabriel wasn’t going to drag it out tonight though. Not as on edge as they already were. “Take off your clothes. And no touching,” Gabriel ordered. Sam’s clothes were off so fast he wondered if Sam had superpowers. Gabriel walked around Sam again, stopping behind him to fiddle with the plug for a moment before continuing his circuit, and Sam was dripping a steady stream of pre-cum on the floor. “So beautiful and obedient,” Gabriel praised, pressing a kiss to Sam’s lips and then backing away before Sam could deepen it. 

“Take off my clothes, Sam,” Gabriel told him and found himself undressed with the same super speed. “Follow me,” Gabriel ordered, leading the way to the bedroom. Gabriel got up on his hands and knees, spreading his legs apart, showing Sam the large bright pink plug in his ass. He reached for where he knew that Sam kept the condoms and tossed one at him before saying, “Pull out my plug and fuck me hard.” Gabriel shivered as he felt the plug popped out of his ass and it was very quickly replaced by Sam’s large cock slamming in unmercilessly. “Fuck yes!” Gabriel cried out, spurring Sam on, and his head was shoved to the pillow, hand tightening in his hair, as Sam pounded into him. It wasn’t until Sam leaned over and started peppering hard bites over his neck and shoulders that he felt himself coming undone though. “Don’t cum, Sam,” he ordered as clearly as he could when he was teetering on the brink himself. One more hard bite was all it took for Gabriel to scream his release and he could feel Sam’s hand pressing against his ass as the taller man choked off his own orgasm with a whimper. 

Gabriel breathed hard for a moment as Sam slid in and out of him slowly, trying to pull himself back from the edge. “Lay on your back, Sam,” Gabriel told him, and Sam pulled out with great effort and did as he was told. Gabriel threw a leg over and straddled him, lowering himself back on Sam’s cock and an expression of relief flit over Sam’s face as he was once more engulfed in the tight heat. Gabriel moved slow and steady, angling himself so that Sam’s cock was brushing over his sweet spot as he tried to get himself worked up again. It took a little while before he felt himself hardening and he said, “Touch me, Sam.” It didn’t take long for the hand wrapped around his length to get him the rest of the way hard and he was picking up his pace. He didn’t want to get off again yet, so he took both of Sam’s hands and pinned them to the bed as he slammed himself up and down hard and fast. He could feel Sam on the edge, so he said, “Cum, Sam,” and gave his own moan to join Sam’s when he felt the pulsing inside him telling him that Sam had obeyed. 

He rode out Sam’s orgasm before he climbed off and said, “Hands and knees,” reaching for another condom to slide over his own cock. Sam immediately obeyed, despite how badly he was shaking, and Gabriel pulled out Sam’s plug and slammed in just as roughly as Sam had. He knew that Sam’s erection wouldn’t recover so easily. Not before he couldn’t hold on anymore, so he set a brutal pace, pounding into Sam so hard that he had himself braced against the wall for leverage lest his head go right through it. “Oh…fuck…Sam…so…good…” he punctuated every thrust with a word. “Yes…shit…so…close…Sam!” cried out as he blew. 

Gabriel collapsed next to Sam and it took them a few minutes to maneuver themselves into their normal comfortable position, Gabriel pulled tightly against Sam’s side, arm draped over his stomach and head resting on his chest. Once they had caught their breath, Sam said, “Holy fuck that was amazing.”

“Uh-huh,” Gabriel murmured, not quite up for words yet. 

“I don’t know that I could handle that too often though,” Sam said hesitantly. 

“No, I know. Me either. I promise. I just…always wanted to try that,” Gabriel assured Sam. This whole night had been one big, very intense, experiment. Every once in a while, might be nice, but he didn’t think he could handle it often either. He was getting too old for this.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam asked to surprise Gabriel for their next date and Gabriel easily agreed. He liked surprises. Gabriel still drove though, not liking being dependent on other people for a ride. Sam didn’t really care either way, so he let Gabriel have his way. Sam led them to a rather fancy restaurant. Far fancier than they had eaten at thus far. He wanted tonight to be perfect. They had a romantic candlelit dinner, and even fed each other dessert, interspersing it with dozens of kisses before Sam led them to the next stop. Gabriel couldn’t help but smile as he saw that they were going to a poetry reading. 

Most of the reading was spent with Sam snickering tensely at Gabriel’s sarcastic commentary on most of the pieces. He just hoped that Gabriel was a little kinder with his critique later, but he was starting to think he was going to choke and not even be able to do it. 

Gabriel noticed how tense Sam was, and had no idea why, so he decided to keep up a running commentary to try and relax him, but it wasn’t helping. Just as he was starting to get concerned, he found out why Sam had been so nervous when he was called up. Sam took a few deep breaths and Gabriel squeezed his hand reassuringly and whispered, “Knock em dead, Samshine.” 

Gabriel’s words, and the sweet nickname that he hadn’t heard before, were enough to gather his courage and go up there, watching as Gabriel moved from their seats at the back to the front. Sam took another shaky breath and caught Gabriel’s eyes as he said, completely from memory,   
“Who would've thought I'd be falling  
A look into golden whiskey eyes.   
I'm falling  
Strong arms wrap around me   
I'm falling  
A soft voice caressing me.   
I'm falling  
Conversation in the darkness.  
I'm falling  
Walking through sun golden light.  
I'm Falling  
The feel of warm lips.   
I'm falling   
Your smile when you laugh   
I've Fallen.

 

Gabriel knew exactly what Sam was saying and he felt his eyes filling with tears as he pulled Sam close as he stepped off the makeshift stage. Before he could say anything though his phone rang. He looked at the caller id before saying, “Hold that thought.” He answered the phone and Sam knew from the look on his face that it wasn’t good news even before he said, “What hospital?...I’ll meet them there.”

Gabriel was suddenly a bundle of nervous energy as he had no idea what to do. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and he was shaking and he just looked so lost. “Gabe!” Sam said harshly, to snap him out of it, and Gabriel focused on him. “Breathe. Is it Cas?” he asked. Gabriel nodded frantically. 

“I gotta go…”

“I know. Do you need me to drive you?” Sam asked, but Gabriel just shook his head. “Okay. If you’re gonna drive, just remember to breathe okay?” Gabriel nodded and seemed to be doing a better job of it. 

“You don’t have a ride…” Gabriel suddenly seemed to remember, unsure of why his mind lit on that right now, but it was being pulled in a hundred different directions. 

“Don’t worry about me. Just go. And let me know how he is later?” Gabriel nodded one more time before he bolted out the door. 

Sam considered sticking around for a while, knowing that it would be a long time before he heard anything, and needing to keep his mind off of it, but he just couldn’t stomach it, so he headed out and caught the bus home. It took two transfers to get him there, but he couldn’t really be bothered to care. He was so worried about Gabriel and Cas. When he got back to his apartment he just sat there pacing, checking his phone every five minutes, until he finally fell asleep on the couch. He was jolted awake around two am by the sound of his phone ringing and he grabbed it immediately. 

“Crap. I’m sorry. It’s late,” Gabriel said apologetically. 

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. How is he? What happened?” 

“He’ll be okay. He fell out of the treehouse. He has a broken arm and a mild concussion. They want to keep him for twenty-four hours for observation, but he’ll be okay,” Gabriel told him. 

Sam could hear the relief in Gabriel’s voice and felt his own wash over him. “Thank god,” Sam breathed out. 

Sam heard a weak sounding, “Daddy?” and he knew what was coming even before Gabriel said, “I gotta go.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome, Sam,” Gabriel told him, and Sam heard him take a deep breath, but before he could hang up, Gabriel said, “Oh and Sam?” 

“Hmm?” 

“I love you,” Gabriel said quickly. 

Sam grinned. “I love you, too.” Sam pulled himself off the couch and headed to bed with a grin on his face. The night hadn’t been as perfect as he planned, but Cas would be okay, and Gabriel loved him. That was all that mattered. 

He still had the same grin on his face when he woke up and he grabbed his phone and texted Gabriel. ‘Call me when you get a chance?’ He figured Gabriel was probably either sleeping or with Cas, so he wasn’t expecting anything anytime soon, and he was surprised when his phone rang not ten minutes later. 

“Heya, Samshine,” Gabriel said. 

Sam could tell that Gabriel seemed tired and guessed that sleeping in the hospital wasn’t very restful. He knew well enough to know that he wouldn’t have left Cas’ side. “Hey, Gabriel. How is he?” Sam asked. 

“Bout the same. They’ve got him on painkillers, but he thinks his cast is ‘so cool’” Gabriel chuckled. 

“Good. That’s good. How are YOU?” Sam asked. 

Gabriel sighed. “Tired. Worried. Anxious. Bout what you’d expect.”

“So, all normal then,” Sam said comfortingly. “I was wondering…” Sam trailed off biting his lip, not sure if he should ask. 

“What is it?” Gabriel coaxed. 

“Well…maybe it would be okay…if I got him a get well present…I mean, you don’t have to tell him who it’s from…I just…”

“I think he’d like that,” Gabriel cut him off. “You wanna bring it by later?” 

“You mean…” Sam stammered. “I can…you want me to…to meet him?” 

“Yeah. If you want to, of course. You don’t have to,” Gabriel told him. 

“No, I want to,” Sam said quickly. He really wanted to. It meant something real. Even more real than the I love you. Meeting his son was the ultimate level of acceptance as far as Gabriel was concerned, and Sam was nearly moved to tears at the gesture. “I’ll bring it by in a few hours,” Sam told him. 

“Okay. See you then,” Gabriel said with a smile. “I love you, Sam.”

“I love you, too, Gabriel,” Sam said earnestly before he hung up and grabbed his keys. He had to head to the toy store. 

Over the two months that they’d been together, Gabriel had gradually opened up a little more about his son, so Sam had a good idea of what to get him. He was torn between two things for quite a while before he said screw it and just bought both. He headed into the hospital and took a few deep breaths before he went to the front desk and asked for Caspian Shurley’s room and he was pointed in the right direction. He stopped for another deep steadying breath outside the door before he knocked. 

Gabriel opened the door a moment later and Sam could see the same nerves he felt reflected in Gabriel’s eyes as he stepped back and let Sam in. “Hey Cassie. Someone’s here to meet you,” Gabriel said gently moving back to the bed and running a hand through the child’s hair as two sets of eyes turned to Sam. “This is Sam.”

“You’re Daddy’s boyfriend,” Cas said bluntly, followed by, “You make him happy.”

Sam noticed Gabriel’s blush at the appellation. “Yeah. I am,” Sam told him, smiling at Gabriel before turning his attention back to Cas. “He makes me happy too.”

“Good. You’re really tall,” Cas said, and Sam chuckled. 

“I brought you a present,” Sam said walking over to the bed and handing him the bag. He’d decided against wrapping it since he didn’t know how well he’d be able to unwrap it with his arm in a cast. 

Cas beamed at him and opened the bag, pulling out the larger of the two presents first. “Whoa! A storm action megazord!” Cas exclaimed happily. “Look Dad! Isn’t it awesome!” 

Gabriel chuckled. “Yeah. That’s an awesome present.”

“There’s one other thing in there,” Sam pointed out and Cas looked back in the bag, pulling out the sheet of Power Rangers Ninja Storm stickers. “I thought you could use those to decorate your cast.”

“Awesome!” Cas said cheerfully. “Will you help me?” he asked Sam. 

Sam looked at Gabriel who nodded and got up, moving to Cas’ other side. “Absolutely,” Sam said cheerfully, walking over to unwrap the stickers and stick them on the cast with Cas’ directions. 

Once they were done, Cas asked, “Will you sign my cast too? Daddy already did. And the nurse. And the doctor.”

“I’d love to sign your cast,” Sam grinned taking the marker Gabriel handed him and wrote out ‘get well soon, kiddo. -Sam’.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been mid-afternoon when Sam arrived, and he hung around for the whole afternoon, alternating between playing with Cas and trying to comfort Gabriel. When the sun was setting, Gabriel turned to Sam and said, “You don’t have to stay.”

“Actually, I was hoping I could drive you two home later,” Sam told him. “You look like you’re dead on your feet, and probably shouldn’t be driving.”

Gabriel smiled softly at him. “I appreciate that, but I’ll be okay. We won’t be getting out of here until late. I’ve been worse, and you have to work in the morning.”

“Just because you’ve been worse doesn’t mean you should chance it when you have another choice, and don’t worry about my work. You’re more important. You and Cas. I’ll survive one night with little sleep. Please let me do this for you?” 

Gabriel had crumbled about the time Sam mentioned Cas near the top of his priority list, but he still wanted to make it clear. “Okay. But only if you want to. You’re under no obligation whatsoever.”

Sam, very aware of their audience, leaned down for a quick chaste kiss, making Cas giggle. “You’re not an obligation, Gabriel. Never will be.”

True to Gabriel’s prediction it was after one am when Cas was released. Both men had dozed fitfully in chairs at some points, but they were glad to be getting out of there. The nurses wheeled Cas down to the car who climbed sleepily in. Gabriel leaned in to buckle him up, figuring he might be too sleepy to do it properly, before he climbed in the passenger side himself. “You remember where I live?” Gabriel asked once they were pulling out of the hospital parking lot. Sam had only been there once, months ago. 

“Yeah, I remember,” Sam told him, and soon they were pulling into the driveway. Cas was asleep again and as Gabriel leaned in to carry him up, Sam offered, “I can do that if you want.”

“No, I got it,” Gabriel told him. 

Sam didn’t think Gabriel needed to be climbing the stairs, carrying a child in his state, but he didn’t want to overstep his bounds with Cas, so he let it go and settled for following behind, ready to steady them if he stumbled. It wasn’t until Gabriel was walking back out of Cas’ room after tucking him in, that he thought of something. “How are you going to get back?” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take a cab back to the hospital to get my car,” Sam told him. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even think. We should have brought your car.”

“It’s fine, Gabriel. Really. If we had brought my car then you would be the one trying to find a way to go get yours and you have Cas to worry about,” Sam told him, kissing him gently. 

“Okay, but at least wait in here for the cab,” Gabriel told him. 

“You need to get to bed before you fall out,” Sam pointed out. 

“Yeah. I know. Just lock up when you leave?” Gabriel told him. 

“I will, Gabriel,” Sam said with a smile, glad that he was being trusted so much. “Go get some rest. I love you.”

“I love you, Sam,” Gabriel told him, kissing him gently. “And thank you.” Sam went downstairs and sat on the couch while he waited for the cab, locking the door behind him as he left. 

Gabriel had been nervous about letting Cas go to Zar’s house on Friday night like usual, but in the end, he was talked into with the instruction that Cas take it easy, and no treehouse. He met Sam at a local Mexican restaurant, not wanting to get too far away from home, just in case. This time there was no teasing, no games, just a nice, relaxed dinner. “So, how’s Cas?” Sam asked pretty quickly. 

“He’s good. Thinks his cast is ‘super cool’ still. Hopefully the fact that school starts back next week so he’ll have the chance to show it around all over again will help it not get annoying,” Gabriel said with a chuckle. 

“Yeah, I remember when I broke my wrist as a kid, I was the same way for about the first two weeks and then the itching and lack of movement started driving me insane,” Sam said amusedly. 

“Thanks for thinking of decorating it,” Gabriel said. “I wouldn’t have even considered that.”

“I thought he would like it,” Sam said with a smile. “How long does he have the cast for?”

“Four weeks. Well, three now,” Gabriel said before taking a deep breath. “So, Cas was wondering…and I guess I am too…see we’re having a movie marathon tomorrow…and I know you probably don’t want to spend your day off watching kiddie movies…but…”

“That sounds like fun,” Sam cut him off. “I’d love to hang out and watch kiddie movies with you guys.” 

“Yeah?” Gabriel asked hopefully. 

“Yeah,” Sam said with a smile, leaning over to kiss Gabriel softly. 

After dinner and a nice moonlit walk, Gabriel asked, “You wanna come back to my place?” Sam grinned widely and nodded. Unlike at Sam’s apartments, all activities were restricted to the bedroom, and once they were inside, Gabriel pulled Sam into a heartfelt kiss. He didn’t want any games this time, and in fact… ”I was thinking…” Sam gave him a curious look. “Well we’re in a committed relationship, right? Neither of us are sleeping around?” Sam nodded. “And we’re both clean, right?” Sam nodded again getting an idea of where Gabriel was going with this. “So, you think we can start forgoing the condoms?” 

“Yeah, I think we can,” Sam said with a smile, pulling Gabriel close. 

“Good,” Gabriel said with a matching smile. “Because I want to feel you inside me. Completely,” he whispered. Sam kissed Gabriel desperately at that, hands going to Gabriel’s shirt to start unbuttoning it, while Gabriel did the same to his. When they tumbled, naked, into bed together a few minutes later, Sam was already reaching for the lube as he kissed and bit his way down Gabriel’s chest and stomach as he slid the first finger inside. By the time the second finger was going in, he had Gabriel’s cock in his mouth. 

Once Gabriel was ready, Sam slowly kissed his way back up his body asking, “You sure about this?” 

“Absolutely,” Gabriel said breathlessly, and he felt Sam’s dick pressing against his entrance before slowly sliding in, pulling a moan from both of them. 

Sam stilled for a moment, so he wouldn’t blow too soon, leaning over Gabriel for a slow kiss. “I love you, Gabriel,” he breathed out. 

“And I love you, Sam,” Gabriel said, closing his eyes and drinking in the feelings, both physical and emotional. This was exactly how he wanted it this time. Sam began to slide slowly in and out never getting far from Gabriel, peppering his lips with kisses, his neck with a combination of licks and bites, and running one hand over Gabriel’s body while the other alternated between brushing the sweat slick hair from his forehead and tugging on it to get a better angle on Gabriel’s neck. It wasn’t until he felt Gabriel’s nails slide down his back that he couldn’t help but pick up the pace. Gabriel had noticed the reaction to that and continued dragging his nails over Sam’s back and sides as Sam came completely undone, reaching down to wrap a hand around Gabriel’s length as well until they were both spilling over, Sam deep in Gabriel’s ass for the first time. 

Sam stayed propped up over Gabriel for a good long time, softening cock still buried inside him as they tried to catch their breath, just letting hands and lips wander. When he couldn’t hold himself up anymore, he fell on the bed beside Gabriel, pulling the smaller man close. “That was perfect,” Sam whispered. 

“Mhmm,” Gabriel hummed contentedly. 

“Next time, I want to feel you,” Sam said softly, pressing a kiss to Gabriel’s head. 

“Definitely,” Gabriel agreed before they drifted off to sleep. It had been a relatively early night so they were up relatively early too which meant they could spend a little more time lounging in bed. 

“What time will Cas be home?” Sam asked curiously. 

“Around two,” Gabriel told him. 

“Okay. I’m gonna run home and change clothes real quick. I’ll be back before he gets home.”

“Feel free to bring another change of clothes for tomorrow if you want to stay tonight,” Gabriel offered, hoping that two nights in a row wouldn’t be too much, but Sam just grinned. 

“I’ll do that.”


	9. Chapter 9

Sam was back by noon, and he and Gabriel watched a grown up movie while they waited for Cas and Zar to be dropped off. When the car pulled up in the driveway, Gabriel motioned Sam to follow him outside. He knew that Zar’s mom would want to meet him if he would be spending the day with her son. He was the same way whenever she got a boyfriend that would be hanging around the boys too, even if this was the first time the roles had been reversed. 

No sooner than the car had stopped, two boys were jumping out of it. “Hi dad! Hi Sam!” Cas said as they ran towards the house. 

“No running!” Gabriel called after them as a chuckling woman walked over at a much more sedate pace. “Sam this is Zar’s mom, Wendy. Wendy this is my boyfriend, Sam.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sam said politely holding out his hand that she shook just as politely. 

“Nice to meet you, too,” she said. “Cas has been talking about you all day. How long have you and Gabriel been together?” she asked curiously. She knew how strict Gabriel was about no one meeting his son until it was serious, but there were some questions that she just had to ask as a mom. 

“Just over two months,” Sam told her. 

“And it’s serious?” she asked. 

“Very,” Sam said with a smile cutting his eyes over to Gabriel.

Wendy studied him for a moment before nodding and directing her next question at both of them. “So, Cas said something about a movie marathon today?” 

“Yeah. I want him to get a little more time to get used to the cast before he’s running around too much with it. I figure we can break out the board games in the morning,” Gabriel told her.

“Okay. I’ll pick Balthazar up at the normal time tomorrow afternoon,” she told him before she left and Sam and Gabriel went back in the house to find the boys with all the Disney movies spread around them, discussing which one to watch first. 

“No more than five movies,” Gabriel told them. “You boys decide while Sam and I get the popcorn and snacks ready.” Gabriel put Sam on popping the popcorn while Gabriel got the chicken nuggets started and then filled up the candy bowl. “Just a head up, they aren’t allowed to touch the candy bowl until the chicken nuggets are gone, but the popcorn is fair game.” Gabriel figured Sam would need to know the rules. 

“Sounds fair to me,” Sam agreed. Ten minutes later they were ready and the first movie, ‘The Jungle Book’ was decided on. The other four movies they picked were ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Hercules’, and ‘The Little Mermaid’. Sam raised an eyebrow at the last one, but Gabriel just shook his head at him, telling him not to mention it. Sure, it was a girl’s movie, but Cas and Zar loved it and he had no intention of teaching either of them the rampant masculinity of previous generations. Sam just smiled and nodded. He got it, and he had no problems with it. It had just surprised him was all. 

“Now clean up the rest of the movies before we start,” Gabriel said firmly and both boys groaned but did as they were told. The evening started with the boys sitting on the floor in front of the table while Sam and Gabriel were on the couch, Sam’s arm draped lightly over Gabriel’s shoulder and Gabriel leaning against Sam’s side. By the time the fourth movie started, both boys were getting tired and had climbed up on the couch, Cas between Gabriel and Sam and Zar on Gabriel’s other side. Halfway through the fifth movie, both boys were fast asleep, leaning against Gabriel and Cas’ feet were in Sam’s lap. Gabriel seemed to hesitate a moment before he said, “We should get them upstairs. You wanna grab Cas and I’ll get Zar?” 

“Sure,” Sam said with a grin, leaning over to move Cas off Gabriel and lift him up, so that Gabriel could do the same with the other boy. Gabriel directed him to which bed was Cas’ and Sam laid him down and covered him up. Gabriel had long since just bought a second bed for Cas’ room for sleepovers, since Zar stayed over at least once a week, sometimes more when school was out. 

“You want to watch some more tv or call it a night?” Gabriel asked Sam once they were back in the hall. 

“I’m actually pretty tired myself. Who knew watching movies all day could be so exhausting?” Sam said with a chuckle. Once they were in the bedroom, Sam pulled Gabriel in for a slow sweet kiss. He’d been dying to do that for hours. “Does your bedroom door lock?” Sam asked hopefully. 

Gabriel was more than a little nervous about that question. He’d never had sex with Cas in the house before. He knew that it wasn’t a big deal. That parents did it all the time, but he’d never had the occasion. This was treading all new ground for him. In the end, it was his need for Sam that pulled him off the fence and he reached over and locked the door. He would unlock it before they went to sleep of course, but for now…it needed to be locked. Gabriel pulled Sam into a deep kiss, stripping his t-shirt off, quickly, followed by his own. “We need to be quiet though,” he whispered. 

Sam nodded as his lips trailed over Gabriel’s jaw. That much was obvious enough, and it wasn’t long before Sam had his wish, as Gabriel’s bare cock was sliding into him and he had to bite back his moan at the feeling. For the next long while the only sounds in the room were heavy breathing and the slap of flesh against flesh…and the occasional quiet whimper that they couldn’t hold back, until they were spilling over with twin grunts. 

They cuddled for a few minutes before Gabriel moved to get out of bed and Sam followed him, pulling a pair of sweatpants from his bag and sliding them on. “I figured with two kids in the house, it would be more appropriate to sleep in pants,” Sam told him, getting a loving smile from Gabriel. 

Gabriel had forgot to mention the fact and had just been planning to have Sam put his boxers back on, but this was even better. The fact that Sam had considered the matter was enough to tell him that they would be just fine. Gabriel slid his own sleep pants on and unlocked the door before climbing back into bed with Sam. 

The next morning, they were woken with the sun as the bedroom door creaked open. “Daddy? Can we have breakfast?” a soft voice asked. 

“Shh,” Gabriel said already moving to get up, trying not to wake Sam, but Sam pulled him in for a quick, chaste kiss before climbing out of bed himself. “Sorry,” Gabriel whispered as they headed downstairs. 

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Sam said, pulling Gabriel into a side hug as they walked, pressing a kiss to his temple. 

Sam watched as Gabriel did up pancakes, bacon, and eggs for four, and they had a very companionable breakfast. Once they finished eating, Sam offered to do the dishes, and while he was doing so, Cas suggested a morning activity. “Hey, Sam. Dad’s been teaching me and Zar how to play chess. You want to play with me? And Dad can play with Zar?” 

“I don’t know if Sam has plans today, kiddo,” Gabriel told him. 

Sam turned to look at Gabriel, trying to read if that was Gabriel’s way of telling him he’d like some time alone with the kids or just trying to give Sam a way out if he chose to take it. When Gabriel gave him a look that clearly said, ‘it’s up to you’, Sam said, “Nope. No plans today. Chess sounds fun.” The beaming smile from Gabriel told him that he’d made the right choice. 

“I’ll go get my board,” Cas said excitedly running from the room. 

“No running on the stairs!” Gabriel called after him as he headed to the cabinet to pull out his own board. 

By the time Sam finished the dishes, both boards were set up and ready and he had to stifle at laugh at the serious looks on the kid’s faces as they tried to prepare themselves for the game. Sam, of course, let Cas win the first game, only having to correct him a few times and Cas got up and started dancing around. “I wo-on! I wo-on!” he sang. 

“Caspian,” Gabriel said in amused warning. 

“Oh. Sorry, Dad.” He sat back down and said a very sedate, “Good game,” as he held out his hand for Sam to shake. Sam was sure that his cheeks would be sore for days as he bit them to hold back his laughter as he shook the little boys hand and they set up for another game and switched partners. Sam let Zar win the first game too, but after that he only let them win about half of them. That kept them occupied until lunch when Gabriel made burgers and then Zar’s mom picked him up and it was just Sam, Gabriel, and Cas for the rest of the afternoon. Sam had to go to work the next morning though, so he didn’t stay another night, and left after dinner, giving Gabriel some time alone with his son.


	10. Chapter 10

The next weekend, Sam was invited to have dinner with Gabriel, Cas, and Zar when he got off work, and he gladly accepted. The weekend after that Gabriel had them on a Saturday so Sam suggested taking them to a zoo. Things were going well for all involved up until the Cas got his cast off. He was going to Balthazar’s house that Saturday, the day after he got it off and he was very excited about it. Sam was still staying over from the Friday night dinner, so he got full view of the entire fight. “Yes! Now I can play in the treehouse again!” he said excitedly as they were getting ready to leave. 

“No, you cannot,” Gabriel said firmly, and Cas spun to look at him heartbrokenly. 

“But the doctor said I could do everything I normally do,” he protested. 

“Yes, he did, but I’M saying that you are not allowed to do the thing that nearly killed you a month ago,” Gabriel said narrowing his eyes at Cas. 

“But…that’s not fair!”

“Do NOT argue with me,” Gabriel said dangerously. 

“I hate you!” Cas cried, storming up to his room and slamming the door, Zar following behind him. 

Once the boys were upstairs and out of earshot, Sam turned to Gabriel. “Don’t you think you’re being a little unreasonable?” 

“Unreasonable?!” Gabriel rounded on Sam. “It’s unreasonable to ban my son from doing something that nearly killed him? When YOU have kids, you can let them be as reckless as you want but MY son is MY choice,” Gabriel snapped. 

Sam swallowed around the lump in his throat at that. He hadn’t meant to overstep his bounds, but at the same time he hated those bounds. He’d gotten very close to Cas over the last month and he hoped to someday have a more solid role in his life. This didn’t bode well for that idea though. He stopped himself before he said any of that though, realizing that now wasn’t the time. “I should probably go. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he told Gabriel leaning down for a short kiss that wasn’t returned before he left. Cas and Zar also left without a word to him and Gabriel went through the rest of the day in a terrible mood. 

Sam went back to his apartment and spent the rest of the day pacing. He was trying to figure out what he wanted, and the type of conversation he and Gabriel needed to have, because they very obviously needed to have one. And soon. He slept rather fitfully that night and waited until around noon to call Gabriel. Hopefully enough time for him to have cooled down and he would have some time to talk before Cas came home. 

Gabriel woke up that morning feeling calmer, but still convinced that he was right, even if he shouldn’t have snapped at Sam, so he was ready to apologize when his phone rang at noon. “Hi Sam,” he said nervously, waiting to see what kind of reception he had before he decided exactly how to play this. 

“I think we need to talk,” Sam said, trying not to betray his fears. 

“I know,” Gabriel said with a sigh. “I’m sorry I snapped at you like that.”

“I get it. I overstepped my bounds. You’re right. He’s your son and I don’t get a say. That said, you brought me into his life. And him into mine. That implies some sort of relationship. I think if we’re going to go forward here, I need to know exactly where the line is, so that I don’t cross it again,” Sam said emotionlessly. 

Gabriel blinked a moment. He hadn’t expected that. He’d just expected an apology and it would blow over, but Sam made sense. They needed to figure out how this was going to work. He had brought Sam and Cas into each other’s lives, and he needed to figure out how they fit. “You’re right. That is something we need to discuss. Can you give me some time to think on it?”

“Yeah. I can do that,” Sam told him. “Just give me a call when you’re ready.” With that, Sam hung up. He didn’t think he could take a long drawn out goodbye this time. Not now. Now that he’d been let in, he didn’t think he could go back to being shut out, and if that was where Gabriel chose to take this, it might just be the end. 

Sam hung up so quickly that he didn’t hear the quiet, “I love you,” from Gabriel, and Gabriel felt his stomach drop as he realized just how badly he might have screwed up here. He couldn’t lose Sam, but it almost seemed like he was on the verge of it. Part of him wanted to rush out right now and fix this no matter what it took, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Sam had asked an honest question. This wasn’t a problem that could be fixed with apologies and promises to do better. He had to find a solution. He had to figure out what he could live with and where this was going. Then he could fix things. He hoped. 

Gabriel spent much of the next few days lost in thought and it was Wednesday before he realized just how stupid he’d been. So much so that he called Anna on his lunch break and asked her to sit with Cas after school and he promised to be home by ten. Once he got off, he took a stack of papers to grade and headed to Sam’s apartment, sitting in the hallway, trying to focus on his work as he waited for Sam to get home. He knew it would be a while, but he couldn’t just let this go. He had to fix it. And it needed to be done in person. 

It was six thirty before he heard a set of footsteps come around the corner and stop and he looked up to see Sam standing there, dressed in his nice suit, briefcase in hand, and Gabriel jumped to his feet, trying not to lose all his papers in the process and shoved them into his own bag as he said hopefully, “Can we talk?”

That got Sam moving again as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Yeah. Come on in,” he said as he unlocked the door. He dropped his briefcase on the counter and stripped off his tie and jacket. “You want a beer or a soda or anything?” Sam asked. 

“Soda’s good. Thanks,” Gabriel said. He wasn’t sure he needed any alcohol in him for this. Not even a beer. Once they were sitting on the couch, Gabriel took a deep breath and started. “First of all, I want to say again that I’m sorry for snapping at you. I let my frustration at the situation bleed over until I took it out on you. More than that, I’m sorry for what I said too. Not just how I said it. I realize now that I was being stupid. You didn’t do anything wrong. You waited until the boys were out of the room before bringing it up, so you weren’t trying to undermine my authority. You were expressing an opinion. An opinion that you have every right to have.” He could see Sam starting to soften, but he still had more to say. “You were right that I brought you into his life, and I did that as my boyfriend. An implication that you would, eventually, take on a larger role in his upbringing. I don’t think any of us are ready for you to take on the role of a parent here…”

“And I’m not asking too,” Sam cut in. 

“I know,” Gabriel said quickly. “Which is why you did right by waiting until they left the room and bringing it up to me. But you DO have a role in his life. Which means you have every right to express your opinion on his upbringing. Eventually when we’re all ready, you can take on a larger role, but I made the mistake of thinking of things like it was all or nothing and it’s not. We can work up to it. We SHOULD be working up to it. I’m not used to having to share. I’m used to being the first, last, and only word on the matter. It might take me some time to adjust, but I want to. I want you to be a part of our life. I will try to do better if you’ll try and be patient with me?” Gabriel fought the urge to hold his breath as he waited for Sam’s response. This was the make it or break it moment of their relationship.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam thought over everything Gabriel said. It was essentially everything he needed to hear. That they were working towards something more permanent even if they weren’t there yet, and that Gabriel would make more room for Sam in his family equation. Sam smiled softly at Gabriel as he reached out a hand to cup Gabriel’s cheek, pulling him in for a soft kiss. “I can do that,” he whispered as they pulled apart, and Gabriel practically dove into Sam’s arms, kissing him soundly. 

“Thank you, Sam. I’m sorry. Thank you,” Gabriel babbled, punctuating each sentence with a kiss. Sam chuckled and ran a soothing hand through Gabriel’s hair as calmed down. “I was so afraid I’d lost you,” Gabriel admitted with a whisper as he settled into the warm circle of Sam’s arms. 

“So was I, Gabriel,” Sam said holding him tighter. “So was I.”

They just sat there, holding each other and coming to terms with the fact that they managed to get things back on track after their first fight. It was almost an hour before Gabriel spoke again. “So, you said something about me being unreasonable?” He wanted to prove that he could do this, and so would hear Sam out on the original issue that started all this. 

Sam looked at him searchingly for a moment, wanting to be sure that his opinion was wanted before he nodded and said, “I get that you were scared for him, and that’s perfectly normal, but he’s a kid. They get hurt. He could easily get the same injury tripping down the stairs of your house. He could get hurt just running around outside and hitting his head on a rock. Playing in a treehouse is something that kids do, and yeah, sometimes there are accidents, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea to wrap him in bubblewrap, so to speak, either.”

Gabriel sighed. “You have a point. I hate it, but it’s a valid point. I just…I don’t think I could stomach the idea of him going in that treehouse again. Not after what happened.”

“Then maybe just talk to him. Tell him that. Let him know how scared you were for him and ask him to give you a little time to get used to the idea again. I bet he’d accept it, but right now he just feels like he’s being punished unfairly,” Sam suggested. 

Gabriel could see the wisdom in that. He supposed sometimes an outside perspective was what was needed. He could always put his foot down again later if Cas still wouldn’t accept it, but Sam’s idea was worth a shot, and the fact that he was considering it from the point of view of how Cas felt and what was best for him, made him even more sure that he’d made the right decision here. “Okay. I’ll try that.” Gabriel sighed. “If I can get him to speak to me again, that is.”

Sam smiled. “He will. I’m sure of it,” Sam assured him. “He just doesn’t understand is all.”

“I love you, Sam,” Gabriel said, holding Sam tighter. He needed to hear it. After their disastrous conversation on Sunday, he needed to know that they were better now. That he hadn’t lost anything. That his attempts to make amends were working. 

“I love you too, Gabriel,” Sam whispered before having his lips captured in a desperate kiss. “When do you have to be home?” Sam asked once they paused for air, even as his lips were trailing over Gabriel’s jaw. He knew that Gabriel couldn’t stay tonight. Not on a Wednesday. 

“I told the babysitter by ten,” Gabriel replied. 

Sam glanced over to the click to see that it was only eight thirty. “We have an hour then,” he said, smirking as he gave a sharp nip to Gabriel’s neck. “Whatever could we do to kill the time?” 

“Make love to me, Sammy? Please?” Gabriel asked hopefully. 

Sam sucked in a sharp breath at that. That had been what he was intending of course, but Gabriel’s wording, and the desperation in his voice caught him off guard. This was the first time that Gabriel had ever used those words, and that alone, told him just how scared Gabriel had been of losing him. And just how much Sam meant to him that he would be that scared. Sam knew exactly what he needed and had every intention of giving it to him. He got up from the couch, lifting Gabriel off his lap with him, carrying him bridal style to the bedroom before laying him gently on the bed, leaning over to kiss him lovingly as he slowly unbuttoned Gabriel’s shirt, peppering the same loving kisses all over his face and neck, and as they were revealed, his shoulders and on down. As he removed Gabriel’s pants, he avoided his erection and continued down one of his legs, following the slow slide of the pants, and as they came off, he worked his way back up the other leg, undressing himself quickly, before he slicked up his fingers. 

On his way back up, he paused over Gabriel’s stomach to lick up the pre-cum that had dripped there as he slid a finger in. The licks and gently kisses continued trailing back up slowly, even as Sam inserted a second finger, whispering in Gabriel’s ear, “I love you, my angel. Always.” He turned to kiss away the tear that leaked from Gabriel’s eye, using his thumb to catch the one on the other side as it caressed his cheekbone, but Gabriel was obviously too overcome for words as his hands just wandered slowly over every inch of Sam’s body that he could reach. As he slid in a third finger, his lips returned to Gabriel’s, soft and slow, pouring every bit of emotion he could into the moment, and when Gabriel was ready, he slid himself inside, just as slowly and gently. 

Once he was fully seated, he sat back on his knees, pulling Gabriel up with him, so that he was sitting on his lap and he held him tightly as he rolled his hips. One hand was splayed across Gabriel’s back, holding him up, while the other ran through his hair and over his face, and his lips ghosted across all the soft skin they could get to. Sam had no idea if they could get off slowly like this, but he had every intention of trying. He shifted them around a few times before he heard the sharp intake of breath and felt the jump of Gabriel’s cock that told him he’d found the sweet spot, and he continued working from that angle, almost massaging it with the gentle rolls of his hips. 

He loosened his grip on Gabriel enough to take him in his hand and stroke slowly, rubbing his thumb over the tip every chance he got. He could tell by Gabriel’s breathing that he was close, and he was pretty sure that feeling Gabriel blow would bring him with him, so he increased his speed just a little bit. Still slow, but not agonizingly slow anymore. He pulled Gabriel’s forehead against his, their breaths mingling together as he breathed out, “Cum for me, Angel,” rubbing his thumb in circles over the tip of Gabriel’s length and he had been right. As soon as he felt the clenching around him and the pulsing in his hand, he was gone too. 

As Sam came down from his high he glanced over at the clock seeing that he still had fifteen minutes before Gabriel had to start getting ready to go, and he was glad, because he had no intention of moving right now. He pulled Gabriel into another sweet, gentle kiss, still holding him tightly in his lap. When it ended, Gabriel turned and buried his face in Sam’s neck just drinking him in, still too overcome for words. Gabriel couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. Any doubts he might have had about Sam’s love for him were just blown completely out of the water, and he knew, in that moment, that Sam was it for him. Forever. Not that they were ready to make it official yet, but Gabriel was suddenly certain that they would. Eventually. He would accept no other option. He would fight for Sam to his last breath.


	12. Chapter 12

When their time was up, Sam sighed sadly and pressed one more soft kiss to Gabriel’s shoulder. “It’s time for you to go, Angel.”

“Uh-uh,” Gabriel said shaking his head prompting Sam to chuckle. 

“I wish you didn’t have to, too. Do you want to maybe call the babysitter and see if she can stay late?” Sam asked hopefully. 

Gabriel gave his own sad sigh before he picked his head up. “I can’t do that to Anna. She has classes in the morning. And we both have to work in the morning,” he added. 

“Yeah. I know,” Sam said, finally pulling himself out of Gabriel, and sliding his lover off his lap. He returned a second later with a wet washcloth and dragged it slowly over Gabriel’s chest and stomach, cleaning him up before he got dressed again. He would have to take a shower when he got home but at least he wouldn’t be dealing with the babysitter covered in dried cum. Once Gabriel was dressed, Sam pulled him in for one more kiss. “I love you, Angel,” he whispered. 

“And I love you, my Samshine. Always,” Gabriel whispered back before he left. 

The next day, after school, Gabriel sat Cas down. The boy was still pouting and crossed his arms, glaring at his father. “I want to talk to you about this treehouse thing,” Gabriel told him, and he saw a vein of cautious hope enter Cas’ eyes. “I know that it was accident, and accidents happen, but I need you to understand, baby, just how bad that scared me when you were hurt.”

“You were scared?” Cas asked with wide eyes. He, like most little boys, thought his dad was the strongest bravest man in the world. 

“You are my whole world, Cassie, and something happening to you is the most terrifying thing I could ever imagine,” Gabriel told him reaching out to run a hand over his hair. “Sam pointed out to me that you could have gotten hurt just as bad falling down the stairs here though, and I can’t protect you from everything. That idea is just as scary for me. So, I’m not saying that you can never play in the treehouse again. I’m just asking you to please give me some time to get over my fear before you go back up there. Can you do that for me?” Gabriel asked gently. 

Cas launched himself at his father hugging him tightly. “Okay, Daddy. You help me not be afraid, so I can help you too. And I promise when you do let me go in the treehouse again I’ll be super careful. On the stairs too.”

“Thank you, baby,” Gabriel said happily running a hand through his son’s hair as they cuddled on the couch. He said a silent thank you to Sam as he got to spend the day with his son for the first time in almost a week. It was amazing how much he’d missed him. 

The next day, rather than go out, Sam and Gabriel stayed in and had dinner at Gabriel’s house, sans kids this time. Gabriel figured they needed some nice relaxed time. Gabriel cooked a nice dinner and then they spent the evening curled up on the couch watching movies. 

When Cas and Zar got there the next afternoon, Cas actually ran up to Sam and hugged him. “I missed you last weekend,” he told him. That surprised Sam. It had only been a few hours on Sunday afternoon that he’d missed, and he hadn’t expected Cas to even notice. 

Sam didn’t see the brief look of panic flash over Gabriel’s face as he hugged the boy back. “I missed you too, kiddo,” Sam replied easily. “Your dad and I were talking, and we were thinking of taking you boys out for mini-golf today. What do you think?” He got twin cheers for that idea. Now that Cas was out of the cast, they could do more active stuff. 

Sam may have missed that brief look of panic, but he couldn’t miss the tension that Gabriel had trouble shaking afterwards, so while the boys were choosing their clubs and balls, Sam pulled him aside. “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“It’s nothing,” Gabriel tried to brush it off, but Sam just gave him a look, so he sighed and said, “It’s just…Cas is getting attached to you…and that’s…”

Gabriel trailed off, but Sam got it, anyway. “I have no intention of going anywhere, Gabriel,” Sam said gently. He realized that he hadn’t actually responded to Gabriel’s hopes of things moving forward between them at some point when he mentioned it the other day, so he rushed to reassure him. “You said you wanted this thing with us to go the distance, and so do I. I fully intend to be a part of his life, and yours, for a very long time. I love you both.” 

Sam could practically see the tension rolling off of Gabriel as he spoke and the tightness around his eyes softened. “Thank you, Sam. I love you,” he said relieved. He had talked a lot about the future the other day, and he hadn’t even realized that Sam hadn’t responded until he noticed how attached Cas was. Sam leaned down for a quick kiss before they rejoined the boys who had finally finished arguing over who was going to have the red ball. 

They easily settled into a routine. When Gabriel had the boys on Friday nights, Sam would join them for dinner when he got off work and then they’d watch movies. When Gabriel had them on Saturdays, they would all go out someplace fun, like the mini-golf, or bowling, or to the arcade, or even to the fair when it was in town. Sunday afternoons were usually spent playing board games or even video games, and things were going very well. 

A couple weeks before Thanksgiving, Sam showed up for dinner on Friday night, and was surprised to find Cas answering the door, rather excitedly. “Sam! Daddy wants you to come live with us! You’ll come live with us, right? It’ll be so much fun!”

Sam just gaped at him for a moment before he looked up at Gabriel to find him standing in the middle of the living room, pinching the bridge of his nose with a bright blush on his cheeks, but he hadn’t contradicted Cas. Sam was torn as to what he should do. On one hand, without confirmation from Gabriel, he worried about saying yes, but he didn’t want to let Cas down either. He settled on an affirmative response that could be walked back later. “I would love to come live with you guys, but I think your dad and I need to talk about it a little bit first.”

“Okay!” Cas said excitedly, rushing back to the dining room, followed by Sam and Gabriel. 

Before they got there though, Sam reached out for Gabriel’s hand a pulled him to a stop, prompting Gabriel to look up him for the first time since he’d gotten there. Sam’s free hand went up and brushed a lock of hair out of Gabriel’s eyes as he gazed lovingly at him. “We’ll talk later?” he half-asked, half-said. 

Gabriel took a deep steadying breath. “Yeah. We’ll talk later,” he said feeling much better about the situation. He hadn’t planned on Cas stealing his thunder like that. He’d planned on feeling Sam out on the subject a little more before actually bringing it up. He should have known that once he mentioned it to Cas that was never going to happen. 

After dinner, Cas grabbed Zar and said bluntly, “We’ll go play video games. You two talk.”

The abrupt shift, had both Sam and Gabriel scrambling for purchase for a moment before Gabriel managed to say, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Sam asked, wondering if maybe Cas misunderstood something Gabriel had said. 

“I’m sorry, you got blindsided with that. I just, wanted to know how Cas felt about the idea before I found a way to bring it up to you. Sometimes I tend to forget the propensity of small children to blurt out whatever is on their mind at any given moment.”

Sam let out an internal sigh of relief. “So…that is what you want then?” he asked hopefully. 

Gabriel took a deep breath for nerves and looked up at Sam. “Yeah. It is,” he said as steadily as he could manage. 

“Then yes. I’ll move in with you,” Sam said with a grin. 

“Yes?” Gabriel asked, his own grin spreading across his face. 

“Yes,” Sam said with a nod before getting captured in a searing kiss. It didn’t last long though. They were in the kitchen and there were two little kids in the house, after all. “And yeah, it was kind of a blindside, but I’m apparently going to have to get used to that aren’t I?” Sam joked. 

Gabriel laughed. “You have no idea.”


	13. Chapter 13

Sam and Gabriel’s date night that week was spent at Sam’s apartment, sorting and packing. They stayed there that night and only returned to Gabriel’s house in time for Cas to come home on Sunday afternoon. There was still a lot to do though, and Sam intended to get everything else taken care of during the week and next weekend he would borrow his Uncle Bobby’s van and get everything moved over. The apartment had come furnished, so he didn’t have any furniture, other than his desk, and Gabriel had offered to share his office with Sam or convert the attic to an office if Sam really wanted his own. Sam gladly accepted the offer to share. 

Sam’s rent was paid through the end of the month, so he gave the landlord that date for him being completely moved out. He had no doubt that he would be making trips back and forth for things he forgot over the next few weeks, but for the most part he was officially moved in with Gabriel by the time Cas and Zar got dropped off the following Saturday afternoon, and soon after they spent their first Thanksgiving together as a family. Sam’s family had never been big on holidays, but Sam invited Dean and Bobby to share it with them too. Gabriel had broached the idea of Sam trying to reach out to his father, but Sam shot it down fast. The man had dumped them with Bobby when Sam was twelve and they hadn’t heard a word from him since. If he wanted back in, then he would have to take the first step. 

It was only a week before school let out for winter break when Sam went to wake up Cas while Gabriel was cooking breakfast only to find that Cas was burning up. Sam grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom and woke Cas up enough to check his temperature which was 101.7. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t so bad. It was probably just some bug or something. He got Cas a glass of water and told him to drink a little and lay back down before he went back downstairs. “Cas is sick,” he told Gabriel. 

“How sick?” Gabriel asked worriedly, turning away from the stove. 

“Not too bad. I already checked his temperature and it’s only 101.7. I gave him a glass of water and told him to lay back down, but I wasn’t sure if we had any medicine for him,” Sam told him. 

“Yeah. It’s in our bathroom on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet,” Gabriel told him. “I’ll go call his school and mine.”

“Don’t worry about yours. I got him,” Sam said, and Gabriel faltered a bit at that, looking at Sam like he wasn’t sure where to go here. “Really. I’ve got a slow day at work today. Nothing that can’t be pushed back until next week. I was mostly just planning to catch up on some paperwork which I can easily do from here. You go to work.”

“I don’t know…” Gabriel said biting his lip. 

Sam walked over to Gabriel and put one hand on his hip while the other went to his cheek. “Let me in, Gabe?” he said as a reminder. He wanted to prove that he could do this. He NEEDED to prove it. To himself and to Gabriel. 

Gabriel took a deep breath before he said a nervous, “Okay,” and was rewarded with a soft kiss. “I’ll go give him his medicine and let him know you’ll be staying with him today before I leave.”

“Okay,” Sam said with a smile and a nod. “I’ll finish breakfast.” He could do scrambled eggs and sausage. That was easy enough. He stepped over to the stove while Gabriel headed upstairs. He went to grab Cas’ medicine before heading to his room. 

“Hey, buddy. Sam says you’re sick,” he said softly as he entered, putting a hand over Cas’ forehead to feel for himself. 

“Uh-huh,” Cas said miserably. 

“Well I brought you some medicine, and then Sam’s gonna stay home with you today if that’s okay with you?” Gabriel asked. If Cas said no, then Sam would just have to understand. 

Cas just gave a sluggish nod and said, “Kay.” He didn’t care who stayed with him as long as one of them did. 

“Okay. Sit up for me and drink your medicine,” Gabriel said as he finished pouring it out, ignoring the pang in his heart that his son didn’t need him anymore. He knew it was ridiculous, which is why he ignored it, and had no intention of saying anything, but he couldn’t help but feel it. This was the first time his son had someone else to go to when he was sick and hurting and he hadn’t been prepared for how hard that would hit him. 

The big hug and the soft, “Love you, Daddy,” made him feel a little better though. As did the whispered, “You’ll be back this afternoon though right?” 

“Absolutely, baby. I’ll be coming right home after school,” Gabriel assured him. He always did on Fridays anyway, but he knew that Cas needed that reassurance. “Try and get a little more sleep, okay?” Cas nodded and laid back down. Gabriel sat there for another minute running his hand through Cas’ inky black hair before he headed back downstairs. 

He heard the plates hit the table as Sam was saying, “Yeah, just move the two meetings to next week, whenever I have a free spot, and I’ll have those contracts ready by Monday…okay, thanks Sheila.”

Gabriel stepped into the dining room and asked, “Got everything handled?” 

“Yep. It’s all good,” Sam told him as they sat down to eat. 

Once they were done eating, Gabriel handed Sam the children’s Tylenol. “Two teaspoons every four hours. Plenty of water and rest. If his fever gets over 103 call me and take him to the hospital.”

Sam already knew all that, but humored Gabriel anyway with a serious nod. “Got it.” He fully expected regular calls today to check in too, but he just considered himself lucky that Gabriel was tearing himself away and willing to let Sam handle it. He couldn’t imagine how hard that must be for him. 

“And call me if you need anything. Either of you,” Gabriel told him. 

“I will. I promise,” Sam told him, leaning down for a kiss. “Now go to work,” he said with a smile. 

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll call Cas’ school on the way.” He’d gotten a bit behind this morning.

Once Gabriel left, Sam went to check on Cas, finding him deeply asleep, so he headed to the office to use the time to get some work done. Unlike usual though, he left the door open, so he could hear if Cas called him. He went to check on him again an hour later, slipping in to place a hand on his forehead and he was glad to notice that he didn’t feel nearly as warm as he had earlier. He ran a hand through the boy’s hair before going back to work. About twenty minutes after he sat down, his phone rang, and he couldn’t help but chuckle, but he wiped it from his voice before he answered. “How is he?” Gabriel asked. 

“He’s still sleeping,” Sam told him. “I just checked on him a few minutes ago. His fever seems to be down. I didn’t wake him up to check his temperature, but he doesn’t feel as warm as he did.”

“Okay. Good,” Gabriel said relieved. “YOU doing okay?” 

Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It had been two hours and Cas had been sleeping the whole time. Of course, he was okay. “Yeah. I’m good. I got this, Gabe,” he assured him. 

“Yeah. I know. I just…” 

“You’re worried. I understand,” Sam assured him. He wasn’t going to bother telling him not to worry. 

“Yeah. I gotta go, my next class is coming in,” Gabriel told him. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Gabe,” Sam said with a smile, as he hung up and turned back to his work. He checked on Cas again about half an hour later to find him pretty much the same and it wasn’t until about forty five minutes after that when he heard a groan, so he hopped up and rushed into his room. “Hey buddy. How you feeling?” Sam asked softly, reaching out to put a hand on his forehead again. 

“Icky,” Cas said miserably. 

“Yeah, I bet. Your fevers back up there, again,” Sam said handing him the thermometer seeing that it was about the same as it had been that morning. “It’s not quite time for some more medicine yet, but how about you come downstairs and try to eat a little something and then it should be time.”

Cas nodded, but wasn’t particularly steady on his feet, so Sam carried him down the stairs and put him on the couch, wrapping the throw blanket around his shoulders. “I’ll go heat you up some soup and a sandwich okay?” He brought it out on a tv tray and Cas managed to eat most of the soup and half of the peanut butter sandwich before Sam gave him some more medicine. “Do you want to go back to bed or stay here and watch a movie?”

“Can we watch ‘The Little Mermaid’?” Cas asked hopefully. 

“Absolutely,” Sam said, pressing a kiss to the top of the boy’s head as he got up to put it on. When he sat back down, Cas curled up to his side, pulling the blanket tightly around him. It wasn’t long after that when his phone rang again, and he realized that Gabriel was on his lunch. After that first call, he’d been pretty good about not checking in after each class. 

“How is he?” Gabriel asked as soon as Sam answered. 

“He’s okay. His fever started going back up, but I just gave him some more medicine. I got him to eat most of a bowl of soup and half a sandwich. We’re watching ‘The Little Mermaid’ now,” Sam gave him the update. 

“Is that Daddy?” Cas asked.

“Yeah. You want to talk to him?” Cas nodded, so Sam paused the movie and handed him the phone. Gabriel got another play by play of the day before Cas was dropping the phone and scurrying for the bathroom to empty his stomach. Sam followed right behind, grabbing the phone before Gabriel could panic, and rubbing Cas’ back as he reassured Gabriel that everything was fine, and he could handle it. Once he got Cas back to the couch and wrapped in the blanket again, he restarted the movie and promised that he would be right back as he went to clean up what didn’t quite make it to the toilet. When he returned he had a glass of apple juice, hoping that would settle a little better on his stomach, and knowing that he needed some fluids in him. 

Cas had thrown up a few more times over the course of the day, but mostly they just stayed wrapped up on the couch with Cas lightly dozing in Sam’s lap as the movies played. This was the scene that Gabriel walked in on when he got home, and he couldn’t help the fond smile that flitted over his face as Sam looked up at him and put a finger to his lips. Gabriel nodded and tiptoed into the kitchen to put the Pedialyte he’d just bought in the fridge. He came back and settled gently on the couch on Cas’ other side and reached out a hand to brush over his forehead. “I just gave him some more medicine about an hour ago, so his fever is back down,” Sam whispered. 

“I got him from here if you need to go get some more work done,” Gabriel whispered back. 

Sam nodded and kissed Gabriel softly, while transferring Cas over to his lap. Cas stirred a little bit at the transition, but didn’t wake up. Sam didn’t HAVE to get any more work done. He’d gotten the crucial stuff done that morning while Cas was sleeping, but he understood that Gabriel wanted some time with him, and he did have other stuff that he could stand to catch up on. He could give them a few hours. 

By Sunday, Cas was better, though still a bit sluggish. He would be back at school on Monday though, and Gabriel was even more head over heels for Sam than he had been before and that was saying something.


	14. Chapter 14

Towards the end of January, Sam came home at the Sam time as Gabriel and Cas were pulling into the driveway after Gabriel picked Cas up from the prime time after school program. This was a semi-regular occurrence, so Sam didn’t think anything of it, until he saw the tense set of Gabriel’s shoulders and the way his fists were clenched at his sides, so he rushed in the house to see what was going on, catching the end of an angry sentence. “…could have possessed you to punch him!”

Sam’s eyes widened at that. He’d never figured Cas for the fighting type. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” Cas sniffled. 

“I don’t want an I’m sorry. I want an explanation,” Gabriel said coldly, trying to hold his temper. 

“Well…he…he said you and Sam were fags. I don’t know what it meant, but it sounded really mean, and I couldn’t help it. I didn’t mean to punch him,” Cas tried to defend himself. 

Gabriel felt a hand settle on his shoulder at that while at least some of his anger drained from him and he took a few deep breaths. “Did you tell your teacher what he said?” Gabriel asked. 

“Uh-uh. I didn’t know what it meant so I didn’t tell her.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll call your teacher then and let her know. That doesn’t mean you had the right to hit him though. It’s not going to change your punishment at all, because you know better than to hit people, but I will make sure that he gets punished for what he said too,” Gabriel told him. “You’re suspended from school for the rest of the week and grounded for two weeks. Now go to your room and I’ll call you for dinner.”

Once Cas was gone, Sam asked, “He got in a fight?” 

“Yeah. Gave the other kid a black eye,” Gabriel told him. 

“I hate to say it, but he kinda deserved it. Not that Cas should have done it, of course,” he added quickly. “Is this the first fight he’s been in?” 

“First and last if I have anything to say about it,” Gabriel said plopping heavily down on the couch. 

“Don’t you think two weeks might be a little much?” Sam said hesitantly, remembering the last time he’d tried to put his two cents in on a punishment for Cas. 

“What do you suggest?” Gabriel asked, far more willing to at least hear Sam out than he had been before. 

“I say ground him for the rest of this week and over the weekend, so he misses all the stuff he most wants to do. It’s a first offense and he was rather goaded. Maybe tell him that if it ever happens again he’ll be grounded for a month to prevent repeats.”

Gabriel considered that for a moment. Sam did have a point. He was just still too upset to think clearly. “I’ll think about it,” he promised. “Now I need to figure out what to do for the next two days while he’s home from school.”

“Well you know Fridays are my light days. I have one meeting I won’t be able to put off, but that’s not until four so as long as you’re not late getting home I can just bring most of my work home and do it here. That way you just have to cover tomorrow,” Sam told him. 

“Okay, yeah. That works. Thanks Sam. I hate to call out, but one day is better than two,” he said gratefully. Anna had classes on Thursdays and Zar’s mom worked and they were the only other two people he would leave Cas with. That decided, Gabriel sighed heavily and went to start dinner. It was a good thing he found cooking so relaxing because he could use some relaxing right now. An hour later, he put it on the table and called Cas down. It was a very silent, subdued dinner as Gabriel considered Cas’ punishment. By the time it was over, he had come to a decision. 

“Come into the living room with me,” he told Cas, motioning for Sam to come too. Once they were sitting on the couch, Cas staring at his shoes, he said, “Sam and I were talking about your punishment, and I’ve decided that you only have to be grounded until Monday, BUT” he said before Cas could get too excited. “But, since you’re home from school you will have extra chores for the rest of the week and if you EVER pull something like this again, you’ll be grounded for a whole month. Deal?” 

“Deal!” Cas said happily, diving at his father to give him a hug. “Thanks daddy. You’re the best.” He climbed of his father’s lap and grabbed Sam in a hug too. “You’re the best too, Daddy Sam,” he said before running up the stairs, not even noticing the drama he’d left behind. 

“Did he just…” Sam asked frozen. 

“He did…” Gabriel said emotionlessly. He had no idea what to feel at the moment, or what to do here. He was completely out of his depth. There was a long silence as both men tried to wrap their heads around it. “I can talk to him…”

“No, hang on…maybe we should…talk first,” Sam said. “Just…give me a second.”

“Are you…how do you…feel about this?” Gabriel asked warily. 

“I think…” Sam trailed off, trying to figure out how to answer that question, as he plopped on the couch next to Gabriel. “I think I kinda like it,” he finally said. “But only if you’re okay with it.”

“I don’t…I don’t know. I mean, I know it’s the next logical progression, and you have been living here almost three months. Kids don’t really see these things as complicated as adults do, so I guess I should have been expecting it but…I mean…are we ready to consider this as something permanent? Are you really ready to be a dad?” Gabriel considered aloud, directing the last two questions to Sam, worry shining in his eyes. 

Sam considered those questions from Gabriel’s point of view as he gathered his thoughts. This was coming up very sudden, and Gabriel had good points, but… “For me, I considered it permanent the moment I moved in here. I don’t think anyone is ever really READY to be a dad, but I want to be. I’ll probably make mistakes along the way, and probably need a little help, at least for a while, but if you’re ready to share, I’m ready to step up.” 

Gabriel took a few deep breaths as he came to terms with all this, before he looked into Sam’s eyes. “Yeah. Okay. We can do this,” he said as a grin started to creep onto his face, before he was captured in a deep kiss before settling down at Sam’s side, wrapped in his arms. “And you probably will make mistakes. We all do. I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. I think your first test should be going up to talk to him. If he’s realized what he said, he’s probably up there stressing over it. It will mean more coming from you than from me.”

“Yeah. Okay. You’re probably right,” Sam said squeezing Gabriel tightly for a moment before he got up. They still had a lot to talk about, but making sure Cas was okay was the first priority. He headed up on knocked lightly on Cas’ bedroom door. “Can I come in?” 

“Yeah,” he heard from inside and he knew that Gabriel was right if the nerves in Cas’ voice were any indication. Almost as soon as he opened the door, Cas said, “I’m sorry I called you that. I didn’t mean…it just came out…”

“Hey. Cas. Easy,” Sam said putting a hand on his shoulder and sitting next to him. “It’s okay. Really. You can call me that if you want to,” Sam told him. He knew that it wouldn’t have ‘just come out’ if Cas hadn’t thought of him that way already. 

“I can?” Cas asked hopefully. 

“Definitely. I want to be another dad to you, if you’ll have me,” Sam assured him. 

Cas nodded vigorously and gave him a big hug. “Thank you, Daddy Sam,” he said relieved. Sam grinned and ran a hand through his hair as the other arm wrapped around his back. 

“I love you, kiddo,” Sam told him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

“Love you too,” Cas said happily. 

They sat there like that for a little while, before Sam got up. Cas was still being punished, after all. He decided to let him know what they decided about the rest of the week though. “So, your dad is going to call out of work tomorrow, so he can be home with you and I’ll be bringing my work home on Friday. We’ll work out a chore list for you tonight. Sound good?”

“Okay. I’m sorry, Daddy Sam,” Cas said sadly. 

“I know,” Sam said ruffling his hair. “And we both still love you, you know,” he wanted to make sure Cas knew that. He nodded, and Sam pressed one more kiss to his forehead before he headed out. When he got back downstairs, he sat next to Gabriel on the couch again and pulled him close. “You were right. He was stressing out over it.”

Gabriel chuckled. “I figured. You two got everything worked out?” he asked and Sam nodded. “Okay good. So, first thing you need to know…now that you’re taking this role in his life, he’s going to test you. To see how much you’ll let him get away with. The tone you set from the start is going to be very hard to change later, so as much as you may want to go easy on him at first, don’t.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. I told him we’d work on a chore list for him tonight by the way,” Sam told him.


	15. Chapter 15

True to Gabriel’s prediction, Cas started testing Sam almost right away. Gabriel had him clean the kitchen and his bedroom on Thursday. The living room and the bathroom was for Friday. Once Sam got breakfast in him, he left him to work while he headed to his office to do his own work, keeping the door open so he could hear if Cas called him. It wasn’t thirty minutes later before he had to yell down, “That better not be the TV I hear!” There was complete silence a moment later. When Sam went to check on him an hour after that, he found Cas just sitting on the couch pouting instead of cleaning. “If this living room isn’t clean by lunchtime we might have to reconsider cutting your grounding short,” he warned and that got Cas moving. He mentally patted himself on the back and went back to his work. 

A little while later he heard, “Daddy Sam?” and he turned to see Cas standing in the doorway looking at him worriedly like he was going to be scolded. 

“What do you need, Cassie?” Sam asked gently, trying to reassure him that he wasn’t mad. 

“Can you help me with the vacuum? The cord is all tangled,” he asked.

“Sure, kiddo,” Sam said with an encouraging smile as he followed Cas downstairs and helped him untangle the cord and plugged it in for him. “You good from here?” Sam asked as he looked around the rest of the living room in approval. 

“Uh-huh,” Cas said with a nod. 

“Okay. I’ll be back down in a little bit to start on lunch,” Sam promised. He wanted to finish the file he was working on first. Sam wasn’t nearly as good a cook as Gabriel, but it was hard to mess up hot dogs and potato chips and after lunch, Sam sent Cas to start on the bathrooms. They weren’t making him clean the toilets or anything, but he did have to wipe down the sink, counters and tub and sweep the floors. 

It was almost two o’clock when there was another, “Daddy Sam?” from the doorway and this time when he turned to look, Cas didn’t quite look as nervous about interrupting him. 

“What’s up, buddy?” he asked. 

“I think I’m done. Will you come check it before Daddy gets home?” he asked hopefully. 

Sam chuckled and got up, ruffling Cas’ hair on the way by as he went to check both bathrooms. He started with the upstairs bathroom that Cas used, them not making him clean their bathroom, and he pronounced it good except for one part. The toothpaste that was still stuck in the sink. He could tell that Cas had tried though. “Let’s go check the other one and then I’ll show you a trick for the toothpaste,” Sam offered with a wink. Cas grinned and followed him downstairs to the half bath, and told him it was perfect before he went to the kitchen to get some lemon juice and took it back upstairs. He showed Cas how to squeeze out just a few drops on the stain. “Now give that about ten minutes and it should come up easily. Go ahead and put the lemon juice back in the fridge,” he told him. “Oh and Cas…the living room looks good too. Thank you.”

Cas grinned as he ran downstairs and fifteen minutes later he heard running feet. “It worked Daddy Sam! Thank you!” Cas said happily. 

“Anytime, kiddo,” Sam said with a grin. “Now why don’t you go work on your homework before Dad gets home.”

When Gabriel got home, he got a kiss before Sam was heading into the office for his meeting, but Sam was home by dinnertime, and after dinner, Cas went up to his room and Gabriel curled up next to Sam on the couch. “How did today go?” Gabriel asked curiously. “Cas mentioned that you showed him a trick for the sink.”

Sam chuckled. “It went fine. I had to call him out a couple times early on, but after that he was an angel. He seemed a little worried about not being able to get the sink clean before you got home so I showed him the lemon juice trick.”

“Lemon juice?” Gabriel asked. “Never tried that one. I usually just use a baking soda paste.”

“I’ve seen that, but lemon juice is much easier. A few drops and let it sit for a bit and it comes right up,” Sam told him. “Cas thought it was awesome,” he said with a laugh. 

“I think I might have to agree with him on that one,” Gabriel said with his own laugh.

Needless to say, Cas learned pretty quickly that his new dad wasn’t a pushover and they were very happy from there on in. When Cas was eleven, a blast from the past showed up and wanted to meet her son. Gabriel threw her out on her ear and she tried taking them to court. That necessitated them telling him about her and Cas had no interest in meeting her either. Sam, of course, represented Gabriel and the highlight of the hearing for both of them was when the judge asked Cas if he wanted to meet his mother and he replied, just as matter-of-factly as you please, “I don’t have a mom. I have two dads and they love me,” he said beaming at Sam and Gabriel. Between that and the fact that she had literally abandoned him without a word for more than eleven years, she didn’t get even partial custody. Given the tantrum she had over that, the judge also decided against visitation after she, not so smartly, implied that she would just run away with him in the middle of the courtroom. They even walked away with a restraining order and took Cas out for ice cream after. 

Sam and Gabriel were first in line to get their marriage license when it was legalized almost ten years after they met, and Sam changed his last name to Shurley so he would have the same name as his husband and son, even though Cas was sixteen by that point. He would always be his son, no matter how old he got. When Sam and Gabriel said their vows, Cas was the first one to pull them both into a crushing hug afterwards, followed quickly by Dean who whispered, “Now aren’t you glad I hired you to strip?” 

Unfortunately, he didn’t whisper it softly enough because Cas said, “Wait what?” Sam and Gabriel groaned while Dean gave them an apologetically sheepish look before he burst into laughter. At least Cas was old enough for the story now.


End file.
